A Light in the Darkness
by zenophobiaz
Summary: "An emotional attachment to one's captor as a result of continuous stress, dependence, and a need to cooperate for survival" is what Stockholm syndrome is defined as. But what's it called when it's the captors who are dependent on their hostage? Hiatus.
1. Chapter 01: The New Beginning

**A/N:** Hey there, I am Zenophobiaz and 'recently' I have been addicted with Gakuen Alice fanfics so ever since 9/14/10, I have started planning on writing a new fanfic that would be fitting of what I wish. Basically, this story is where I make my ideas come 'true'. :D My most favorite pairing in GA is Persona/Mikan and yes I know, I have a twisted sense of favorite pairings (maybe), but I really love Rei aka Persona as a character and to me, I really think he's not cold hearted and cruel deep deep inside. I think he does have a soft and nice side, like the case with Aoi. Aoi described him as someone that was nice (or something like that, I can't remember her exact words), so yeah. I think this Persona I have in my fanfic is quite possible. Especially since this Persona has met and been with Mikan ever since he was 9. So he grew up with love and care. :) I hope you guys get what I mean. Almost all of the main characters in this fanfic is _quite_OCC (out of character), especially Persona, Mikan and Principal Kuonji. Yes... Kuonji has a super soft side for Mikan. By the way, even if you don't like the Persona-Mikan pairing, this should still be a good story to read since the pairing is just sorta a side thing, even though one of the categories of this story is romance. :P But yeah, there are some Natsume-Mikan moments as well, since NatsuMikan is my second favorite pairing.

**Summary:** "An emotional attachment to one's captor as a result of continuous stress, dependence, and a need to cooperate for survival" is what Stockholm syndrome is defined as. But what is it called when it's the captors who become dependent on its hostage?

In this story...

1) I often refer to Persona as Rei, coz that is his real name (it was given by Yukihira Izumi). I will use Rei's sorta alias Serio as Rei's last name, coz it's easier to deal with a character who has an actual last name.

2) Mikan's last name will not be Sakura for quite a while. Because: 1) She was an orphan ever since she was one. It will be something I came up with myself, and it will have a connection to Kuonji and Rei. 2) She can't remember her last name. 3) She is basically adopted by Kuonji.

3) Even though Mikan is only a two-year-old at the beginning of the story, she is quite mature and can talk very well already. Because 1) As I said, she was an orphan so she had to fend for herself and be independent ever since she was young. You will find out more about that in this chapter. It might be pretty unrealistic though (:P) oh well. *shrugs*

4) This story is going to stay in the past for the first few chapters because I want to explain everything thoroughly and I don't want to rush things. The past lasts from when she was first adopted until she finally attends the Gakuen as an official student.

I think that's about it for now. Sorry for the long author's note. I wanted to give a background on the story first. The rest of the chapters author's notes shouldn't be as long.

* * *

******Notes:** (In case you guys didn't know):

1) Japanese way of the order of name is last name then first name, in case you didn't know. For example: In America, it would be "Mikan Sakura" (First Last), but in Japan it would be "Sakura Mikan" (Last First) without a comma in between.

2) "-otousan" is a honorific for 'father' or 'dad'.

3) "Arigatou" means "thank you" (informal).

4) "Hai" is "yes".

5) "Ojiisan" means "grandfather". I looked it up and ojiisan doesn't have to have a dash in between the 'ojii' and 'san'.

If there's anything you don't get, feel free to contact me. :)

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I will only do this for a few chapters, I think. But anyways... No I don't own Gakuen Alice. I wish I did. I also wish I lived in that world of theirs... where I can possibly have an Alice. :) Also, this story is my original story, it might have something similar to other stories. It's possibly that some of my ideas sprouted from other stories since I am very addicted with Gakuen Alice fanfics at the moment. So, I would like to apologize in advance if any of you authors out there find this similar. But this plot and fanfic came from me. :)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 01 - The New Beginning**

* * *

"Wh-Where am I?" A little brunette girl questioned as she rubbed her sore head. Knowing better than to move suddenly and feeling the effects of her sore head, she carefully opened her eyes and blinked a few times before the blurriness and white spots in her vision finally cleared. But once her vision was cleared, what she saw, or in this case lack of what she saw, confirmed her suspicion, she was in the dark.

She mentally sighed at her current situation. _'I am probably kidnapped or something, but I guess it's better than being out in that harsh world…'_

Then she suddenly felt a new unrecognizable presence appear out of nowhere. "Who are you?" she bravely asked with a soft shaky voice, the result of her thirstiness and nervousness.

_'She was able to sense me?'_A black-haired boy dressed completely in black along with a white mask that covered the top half of his face took a step forward so that he was out of the shadows. "I am here to look over you."

"What's your name?" the little girl asked hesitantly. She could feel this 'danger-danger' vibe that the boy was giving out, but for some reason, she didn't feel the need to stay away or cower. Instead, she actually felt quite comfortable in his presence, it was a strange feeling… this want, no this _need_ to help him and stay with him.

"Persona," he replied simply, knowing it was easier for the both of them if he gave her something to call him by.

"That's not your real name. Please tell me your real name." She didn't know how she can tell, maybe it was his tone of voice when he was saying his supposed name or maybe it was just her intuition.

'Persona' was quite shocked by the girl's blunt words. _'How did she know that Persona is not my real name?'_ Persona thought, mystified by both the girl and her words.

"I am sorry if I was being rude," the brunette apologized with a sheepish smile. "But I would like to know you real name instead of what I assume to be an alias."

"Why?" Persona was surprised at the words that came out of his mouth. It came out before his mind could even process what she had said, it was as if it was an instinctive reaction.

"Why? What a weird question…" the girl remarked and Persona slightly cringed because he thought so as well, but she answered nevertheless, "Because I want to know the real you, of course!"

Her answer was sincere and truthful, and her tone told him exactly how she felt. _'Such an innocent and naïve girl.'_

"So… what's your real name?" the girl asked as she slowly rose up and steadied herself once she was up. A slight dizziness overcame her, but it would have been much worse if she had shot up like most people would have done.

"Serio Rei." He didn't know why he replied so truthfully, but he just had this urge to tell her absolutely everything. _'Just who is this girl? The ESP had his top agents fetch her and even had **me** watch over her… Plus, he even asked me to practically answer to her every wish and need. She must be very important.'_ He then remembered how she wasn't even the slightest bit intimidated by him. _'…and special,'_ he added as an afterthought.

"Serio Rei…" The girl repeated and a small smile appeared on her face. For some reason unknown to Persona, he liked the sound of his name coming from this girl. "You can call me Mikan."

_'Eh? What's her last name?'_ Rei thought to himself, the ESP didn't really bother to tell him anything about her, her name, her Alice… nothing. "Just Mikan?"

"Hai…" Mikan replied, her voice was laced with sadness. "I am an orphan, you see. I guess I used to have a last name… but I don't remember it anymore. I was after all, only one when I ended up in the orphanage… the only thing that I remembered is my given name and what I had witnessed, which was an underground gang crossfire that I had unfortunately been involved in along with my ojiisan. My ojiisan passed away during this unfortunate event."

_'This little girl is really… mature,'_ Rei thought as he listened to her story. _'And how the heck does she even know so much, an underground gang crossfire and the word unfortunate? How old is she really?'_

"How old are you, Rei-chi?" Mikan suddenly asked.

"Nine… how about you?" Rei replied, he didn't know whether he liked this new nickname she gave him or not. _'It does sound pretty cute coming from her though…'_ But then Rei mentally slapped himself before he could go any further with that thought, it was so unlike him to think like that.

"Um… around two?" Mikan replied unsurely with a cute tilt of her head.

"Around? What do you mean?"

"Well, the orphanage didn't know who I was or basically anything about me… and the police who found me on the streets tried looking me up, but they couldn't find anything about me. It was as if I never existed. And I didn't know my family name or where I lived.

_'What a mysterious girl… and so young too…'_ Rei thought, pondering to himself how they couldn't find anything about her.

"Can I please have some water? My throat feels really dry… how long was I unconscious for anyways?" Mikan requested.

"Three days. I will be back."

* * *

**A few days later…**

Over the past few days, Mikan and Rei got closer with each other, learning more about the other along the way. Rei found himself spilling everything about him to her… even what an Alice is and his role in his sensei's death because of his emotions and Alice, but she wasn't scared at all. When he told her about his childhood, she didn't have a pitying look in her eyes or reacted badly like most people, she only hugged him and reassured him that she will always be there for him. He tried backing away from her in fear of hurting her, but what she said next touched his heart. "I know you won't hurt me." That phrase just kept running through his mind over and over again that day.

Sometimes, they would just sit next to each other, enjoying the comfort that the other's presence provided and this was one of those times.

"You do know that you are kidnapped, right?" Rei suddenly spoke up, interrupting the silence. They had been sitting with Mikan on Rei's lap and Mikan's head tucked under Rei's chin with his arms around her waist.

"Yeah, of course. Ever since I came out of unconsciousness," Mikan replied as she continued to relish in the comfort that she gets in Rei's embrace.

"Then how can you still be so relaxed?" Rei asked with curiosity evident in his voice.

"I would rather be kidnapped and here than be in the outside world. Plus, I get free food and housing."

"Why?"

"Why…?"

"Why would you rather be here than the outside world?" Rei wanted to know, the replies that Mikan comes up with are always so wise and truthful. "Wouldn't you rather be free and not trapped?"

Mikan replied with a shake of her head, "You know… I don't feel trapped here. But no, I would rather be here. The outside world is a harsh place… the powerful rule over the powerless and the people basically take everything for granted. They don't know what they have until they lose it and when they do, they just despair over it, how pathetic they are."

Rei was surprised at how harsh Mikan's words were, they were so unlike her, but he did find them very truthful.

Mikan then continued with a sad smile, "Only the unfortunate will understand the true meaning of fortunate."

"You are right as usual."

"Anyways… now that you brought it up, when's my kidnapper finally going to visit me? Even if I don't really mind the fact that I am kidnapped, I do wish to know why I am kidnapped."

"I am not sure. He hasn't really contacted me for the past few days… Only telling me to give him a report of how you are everyday. I think he's been busy."

"Oh, okay…" Mikan then looked like she was going to say something more, but the sound of a door opening some distance away was heard and they turned to look at each other with a knowing look. "Speak of the devil…" Mikan muttered uncharacteristically and Rei couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he got up and placed Mikan down on the bed.

"I should go out to greet him," he said as he walked towards the cell's door and opened it.

"Alright."

Mikan then heard Rei's greeting and the reply of an unfamiliar voice. While listening to their brief conversation, Mikan sat on the edge of the bed with her arms slightly behind and feet dangling, studying the floor. When she saw a pair of unfamiliar shoes in front of her, she looked up with a smile. "Hello, it's nice to finally meet you."

"Hello… Has Persona been taking good care of you?" The man, or in this case a boy, standing in front of her had cinnamon brown hair parted to the side and he looked to be in his early teens, but there was also this air of maturity and age surrounding him along with piercing coal eyes that spoke more volumes than his appearance ever could. Mikan also noticed that his eyes had this glassiness to it and it was devoid of warmth.

"He has, he is a very enjoyable companion. May I ask you a question?" Mikan asked, not intimidated by his presence at all. She also realized Rei was nowhere to be seen.

"If I deem it as answerable."

"What can I call you?"

"I am known as Principal Kuonji or the elementary school principal. You can call me either."

"May I ask what your full name is?"

"Why?" the ESP questioned. His face had a spark of surprise to it.

"Because… why does everyone have to ask me that question? Is it really that weird?" Mikan remarked with a pout.

"I… guess not," the ESP replied with hesitation. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should reply truthfully. "It's… Kuonji Kageri."

"Arigatou. If I may ask, why am I kidnapped?"

"You have three, or maybe even more, _natural_ Alices. Do you know what Alices are?"

"Yes, a little. Rei told me a little about them. They are basically special powers, am I right?" Mikan replied with a small nod.

"Yes, you are correct."

"I assume I have these powers called Alices?"

Kageri nodded.

"Then what are my Alices?"

"Nullification and it's possible that you have the stealing Alice and the inserting Alice as well. Another possible one would be teleportation. With nullification, you can cancel out other people's Alices, meaning it won't work on you. With stealing, you are able to steal people's Alice in the form of Alice stones. With inserting, you can insert these Alice stones into compatible users."

"How do you know all of this? Who are you? Where am I?" Mikan asked with a thoughtful look.

"You are currently in the Hanahime Den of Gakuen Alice and I am the elementary school principal. I know all of this because…" He paused for a brief second and looked straight into Mikan's eyes before continuing, "…I have been tracking you since I knew of your birth."

Mikan was shocked by this new revelation and she knew it was the truth. She supposed she should feel scared that she has a stalker, but for some strange reason, she didn't. She continued locking eyes with the ESP and she could see so much in it, it was the depth of the abyss and she was sucked in. As seconds turned into minutes, she discovered this urge to help this man in front of her, to cure him of the loneliness so clear in his eyes and to keep him from sinking deeper into the darkness that she knew he was in. She found this man similar to Rei, they―

The man suddenly spoke up, interrupting her thoughts. "You are going to be living here from now on. Persona will also be your official caretaker. Whatever necessities that you need, Persona will take care of it."

"I understand. Will you be coming often?" Mikan asked with a tilt of her head, looking genuinely sincere and honest.

The expression on the ESP's face didn't change visibly, but his eyes showed the surprise and shock that he was feeling. "Y-You want to see me?"

"Of course," Mikan said with a bright smile. "Do I have a reason not to?"

Mikan's reply left Kageri unsure of himself and inside, he was trying to figure out why this little girl would want to see her kidnapper and why she doesn't seem intimidated by his presence at all. _'Maybe I should be harsher to her? But… why do I feel like I don't want her resenting me? Why do I even care?'_

"Where is Rei anyways?" Mikan asked after a brief silence.

'_Rei? Oh… Persona… she is calling him by his first name? And he lets her?_' The ESP was surprised once again. "He is taking care of something right now, but I am sure he will return soon."

"Alright. Arigatou~" Mikan nodded with understanding.

This was the first time in a long long while that someone has thanked him, the ESP couldn't explain this choked-up feeling that he's getting, but then suddenly, he realized something. _'Are… are my emotions getting uncovered? Just because of this girl?_' The ESP cleared his throat and muttered uncharacteristically to Mikan, "I should get going now. Bye."

"Byebye! I hope you will come visit again soon~!" Mikan called out cheerfully, causing the ESP to hesitate for a second before resuming his walk.

"We will see…" the ESP said mysteriously and then he was gone.

When Rei finally returned, there was a loud _thud_ before he appeared in the cell with a look of relief when he caught sight of her.

"You… You are okay…" Rei whispered to himself and was still panting a little.

"Hm. What do you mean?" Mikan looked up with confusion before continuing to munch on the sugar cookie in her hands that she got from the cabinet of necessities.

"Eh… nothing really… it's just that Principal Kuonji can be a little… harsh and sadistic," Rei replied reluctantly.

"Huh… so that's why. But don't worry, he treated me well and he also told me that you are going to be my official caretaker and anything I need, you will get…" A mischievous smile appeared on Mikan's face and Persona couldn't help but inwardly grown. "…or something like that."

'_Uh-oh… she is probably going to go all out on food and snacks… and dolls. Something that she has a particular fondness of, which means that she is going to make me buy them all and people are going to look at me funny… well I guess I can always order it or have someone else buy it for me… Imagine, the oh-so scary Persona is seen buying food like a glutton and buying dolls and stuffed toys like a girl. That's just gonna totally ruin the reputation I built up.'_

"You are going to be really fat when you grow up if you keep eating like that," Rei remarked dryly and Mikan just stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Too bad for you then." Mikan looked like she just remembered something. "Hey, Rei-chi~!"

"Yeah?"

"Is there some kind of Alice out there that involves dolls and maybe, I dunno, making them come to life?"

Rei paled at this idea and Mikan, who was watching him closely, noticed Rei's reaction.

"So I take it there is," Mikan said with an up-to-no-good glint in her eyes.

"N-No, th-there isn't… what in the world are you talking about?" Rei lied and released a nervous chuckle.

"Liar." Mikan then changed the topic. "So what was that loud thud I heard before you came in?"

"Oh. Kuonji-sama told me to start home schooling you and training you. We are also going to get you a personal laptop for your foreign language study and homework purposes. I won't be going easy on you. Those were the books for you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I won't forgive you if you go easy on me anyways," Mikan said nonchalantly before finishing off her cookie. "Are you going to be training my Alice as well?"

"Yes. But we are not going to start with my Alice…"

"I am not scared of your Alice. Haven't you noticed? Your Alice doesn't affect me. I mean, you hold me all the time and we are pretty attached, but you have never seen me going black and I am still alive, aren't I?" Mikan assured with a sigh and Rei's eyes visibly widened. "And I guess you didn't even realize. Well, don't you dare try to keep away from me now."

"H-How did you know…?"

"It doesn't take a genius to tell what's going through your mind, dear Rei," Mikan said with an unladylike snort.

"Are you sure you are really two?"

"Actually, I am not sure. The orphanage and police estimated I was two. I don't remember my real birthday or age," Mikan said with a shrug.

"Do you hear yourself? You don't talk or act like the two-year-old you are supposed to be! You don't even think like one!" Rei said with an exasperated look. "Sometimes I really think you are an old lady hiding in the body of a two-year-old girl."

"Hey! How rude! I never knew you were so stereotypical!" Mikan protested with a pout and crossed her arms across her chest, which made her look really cute. "You yourself aren't even ten!"

"Really, stereotypical?" Rei was fighting to keep a blush off his face. "When did two-year-olds start knowing that word and what it even means!"

"Then would me saying you are a pedophile make you feel better?" Mikan teased with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"W-what?" Rei stuttered, he was really shocked, obviously, but he also realized that he really is acting like a pedophile. _'I just blushed at how cute she looked… I-I am r-really a… a… a PEDOPHILE!_'

Before Rei could pull his hair out or remorse about this realization any further, he was snapped out of it by a flick to his forehead.

"Ouch!" Rei brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed it. "What was that for?" Rei complained with an uncharacteristic pout.

"You were spacing out and you wouldn't answer my calls," Mikan explained as she took a hold of Rei's hand and pulled him towards the bed, grabbing a book on the way. "Let's read and then go to sleep."

"Alright, so what did you pick?"

"Romeo and Juliet."

Rei sweat-dropped at her choice. "Are you really sure you are a child?"

Mikan raised her eyebrow. "What do you think?"

* * *

**One month later…**

"Mikan, I am here," a voice called out gently as the sound of a door opening was heard.

"Otousan!" Mikan called out cheerfully as she recognized the voice and quickly placed a bookmark in the book she was reading. Rei was outside shopping, stocking up on supplies, and she wasn't too bothered about his absence since she knew he would return as soon as he can.

Kageri stepped into the cell and looked around the room with a frown of displeasure before turning to face Mikan with a small smile and arms open, ready for Mikan's expected greeting.

Mikan ran into Kageri's arms and wrapped her hands around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck.

"Hey Mikan. How have you been?" Kageri said with a twinkle in his eyes that is only there when Mikan is around and picked Mikan up.

"Good. I have started training in here and Rei started teaching me math and stuff," Mikan replied as she pulled back slightly to face her otousan.

Yes, Mikan calls Kageri her otousan, of course, he's not her biological otousan, but he's practically her otousan. After meeting her that first time, Kageri had this nagging feeling that made him want to come back and he did just that. Mikan welcomed him warmly after Kageri sent Rei away. Kageri kept trying to intimidate her with stories of his past and all the "evil" things that he does and basically anything that he can think of that could possibly scare her off and make her stay away, but instead of the desired effect, it only made them closer, much closer than he thought was possible for him. She was just so accepting and the warmth that she emanates is just so infectious. Without even knowing, he had opened up to her almost immediately after she showed him her whole-hearted acceptance. After he basically told her his life story and goals, she said something that really struck him. "There is no one on this earth who has not 'sinned' before; if one has not 'sinned' then it's not human nature itself."

Ever since then, Kageri kept finding himself coming back every few days and he wished he could visit every day, but that would have risen unnecessary suspicion and he had quite an amount of paper work that he had to do. He also found Mikan to be quite the perceptive strategist, she was also very intelligent and was quite a help with his paperwork. He tried out a few of the plans she suggested and they were all carried out successfully without flaw. He was of course amazed and decided to regularly deliver some of his paperwork to her for her to work on.

"Training?" Kageri said with a slight crease in his eyebrows. He **_is_** the one who ordered Persona to train her because she was going to become his new secret weapon, but that was before he met her in person. Now that he was so much closer to her, he didn't want her getting hurt because of him. He still needed her for his plans, but she's not _just_ a weapon, she's like the daughter he never had, as weird as that might seem to others who know him.

One glance at him and she knew the worries that are on his mind. "Otousan, don't worry. We are just working on push-ups, squats, pull-ups, running, obstacle course, and those other basics. I need to build up my foundation and agility before learning the more 'dangerous' things. If I started on that intense stuff right from the beginning, I would be long dead. Rei wouldn't do that to me."

"Just… just be careful, especially when you start Alice and combat training. I don't want you on a hospital bed."

"Don't worry. I will!" Mikan exclaimed as her hold around him tightened slightly to further reassure him."

"I will hold you to that," Kageri said as he relaxed and sat down on Mikan's bed. Then he glanced at the book on Mikan's bed. "So what were you reading?"

"Anthem by Ayn Rand," Mikan replied in perfect fluent English.

"Are you seriously two years old?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Mikan demanded childishly with a pout.

"Because you don't act like one. Two-year-olds are usually still reading children's' book and picture books, but you! You are reading chapter books like nothing **and** you are reading an English novel."

"So?" Mikan said with a shrug like it's the most normal thing in the world, but she inwardly muttered, '_Stereotypical._'

"So! You are nothing like a two-year-old, except maybe your physical appearance," Kageri complained uncharacteristically.

"And you are complaining because…?" Mikan questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You are the one acting like a child right now."

"I am not complaining. I am just questioning when two-year-olds started reading English novels."

"Whatever. So didn't you want to tell me something?"

"Yeah, I did… Hold on! How did you know?"

"I just do. So, otousan, what is it that you want to say?"

"I want you to move in with Rei at his house for a month or so."

"Why?" Mikan asked as she watched her otousan with suspicion.

Kageri replied, ignoring her look of suspicion, "I am going to have my people come into the Hanahime Den to refurnish it. I can't have my dear Mi-chan living in a place like this."

"I don't really mind and―"

"I do," Kageri cut in before Mikan could finish her protest. "Plus, you are my helper now, you need a proper place for work and with the rate your reading is going, you need your own library. I can't have you living in a place like this."

Mikan's eyes sparkled at the idea of her own personal library and Kageri can't help but inwardly chuckle. "A personal library? Really?"

"Yes."

Mikan's face broke into a smile that can rival the sun's warmth and hugged Kageri with an over-abundant amount of affections. "Thank you so much!"

"But you are going to pack up what you need and then I will have it teleported into your temporary room. Rei is at his own house right now cleaning up and stocking up. You will then come with me to the entrance and then we can teleport from there."

"Why can't we just teleport from here?"

Kageri became more serious when he said his next words. "Because we are in the Middle School Principal's territory. She has a barrier Alice that reduces the power of an Alice immensely within the barrier."

"Does she know I am here?" Mikan asked with a seriousness matching the one present from Kageri.

"Yes, of course. But at the same time, others won't be able to detect you when you are in the barrier. Once you get to Persona's place, I will give you several barrier Alice stones to hide your presence. We don't want the others within the school to know you are here."

"I understand. When are we leaving?"

"In an hour. I have a guard out front with the illusion Alice to conceal our appearance. But stay with me, okay?" Kageri realized something, he was afraid of Mikan being taken away and afraid of losing her. She was able to break down the rock hard shell that he had and now, he felt so at peace with her. He felt like he belonged with her.

"Of course, Kage-otousan!" Mikan then jumped up and started running around locating the things that she wanted to bring. Even though she has only been here for a month, she already had quite a lot of stuff, mostly books, but there were also a lot of stuffed toys that she had Rei get her.

_'Kage-otousan… that's a new one. She seems to have a new name for me every week. And last week's was Kage-chan, which wasn't a favorite of mine, of course,_' Kageri thought as he watched Mikan skittered around her room and took out a suitcase that he didn't even know she had. He continued to watch her with a fondness that was nonexistent before meeting Mikan. '_She is becoming more and more important to me. She is going to become my weakness… my one and only weakness, but do I really mind it? No I don't… but because of me, she must become strong and be able to defend herself easily.'_ Watching her allowed the strains and annoyance that Kageri accumulated during the time he was absent from her presence to wash away.

When Mikan finished packing, they began making their way out of the den and Mikan was of course slightly curious since this is the first time she has been outside the Hanahime Den, but she was also a little scared of going back into the outside world. Even when she was training with Rei, she was inside the den, but she was perfectly fine with that. When she was out of the Hanahime Den, she was met with a traditional Japanese-styled porch with a walkway and began relishing in the fresh air that the outside world offered her, she loves the fresh air.

"Kage-otousan…" Mikan called out in a whisper. She was carried by one of Kageri's arm while he was rolling the suitcase with the other arm and her arms were around his neck.

"Yes, Mi-chan?" Kageri replied with a glance at the child in his arms.

"Can you get me a venting system to bring in fresh air in the new refurnished den?"

"Of course, whatever you want. Anything else?"

"A book catalogue so I can order the books that I would like in my library."

Kageri let out a chuckle, "Of course, should I also have a really stocked up fridge? Or maybe―" Kageri suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence as he sensed the presence of the MSP in the room they were going to past. "Mikan, stay quiet for now, okay?"

Mikan immediately understood what Kuonji implied and she nodded her head. As they went past the door that would lead into the MSP's lounge, there was a slight opening in the doors and in the few seconds that it took for them to walk past that door, her eyes met with a pair of eyes that she assumed belong to the MSP and there was an instant connection there, she could feel it.

* * *

**A minute or so earlier…**

Hii was a little restless; she could sense Kuonji within her barrier. Even though the barrier repels men, that Kuonji and that kid always have a way to get in and it annoys her to no end, but lately, they have been visiting more and more… the kid comes here practically every single day and often stays down in that den for a few days before leaving. Kuonji was even stranger, he was coming in every few days and he seemed different. This all started when Kuonji brought in a child, a girl as far as she could tell, and the child stays down there. Just who is that child, a child that can bring forth such strange occurrences? Kuonji even came to see her a few days ago when he was visiting that kid and informed her that he is going to be refurnishing the Hanahime Den and his workers are going to be in her den for the month secretly. He also made her seal her mouth about this and she is going to listen, no matter how much she despises that man.

But back to the matter, Hii has a feeling that Kuonji is going to bring out that child today so that she would be away from the construction and the fact that he is down there is proof. This was why she had one of her himes leave the door open so she could see the child. Ah, there he is… the presence of Kuonji and a child, but the child's presence seems faintly familiar.

As Kuonji walked by at his regular pace with a slightly tense posture, he sent a glare at her, but she took no notice of it. Her eyes locked contact with the child's and she felt this immediate connection between the two of them. Those eyes also seemed familiar to her, the look of that particular hime three years ago. _'Could the child possibly be…? It is possible… But I will get to the bottom of this matter. Kuonji, you can't hide this from me, maybe from Yukihira, but not me.'_

* * *

Thank you for reading this new chapter. I hope that I can get feedbacks from you readers so I can see how this story is doing. But even if I don't get good responses, I will still continue this story because I like it very much. All of my chapters should be around this chapter's length. Some might be bigger, others shorter. When I write, it just flows on its own and I have no control over how long it gets. But I will usually try to make it at least 3000-4000 words long. Hope you readers will like that. The next chapter will come depending on response from you readers, longest is a week or two from now, shortest? I don't know. *shrugs* depends. I am only writing the 4th chapter right now. Plus, I have another story to work on as well and I haven't updated that one since like July. so yeah.

I hope you liked this story. Leaving a review would be nice. :) Thanks.

~Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 12-11-10 Night.  
**Edited:** 10-07-11


	2. Chapter 02: The New Life

**A/N**: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. :) Since 2/3 of my reviewers were annoynomous reviewers, I decided to just respond to your reviews here. :) I am actually sorta surprised at the amount of reviews this story has gotten since I know that there aren't that many people who like the Persona-Mikan pairing. But I personally love it. *shrugs* Since I got more reviews than I expected, I decided to just upload the next chapter now. Plus, I just want to send my story to the 10,000+ words mark. lol.

* * *

Anyways:

**Resty** - I am very happy~ I agree with you, these two are a romantic couple~ I thought about how they were both Izumi's children and I just had a what if... What if Izumi never died and Yuka never left the academy? Since Yuka was already pregnant... if the ESP didn't harm Yuka during her pregnancy and Yuka and Izumi stayed within the academy... There would be a huge chance that Mikan would grow up with Rei since Izumi is basically Rei's caretaker... whoa... that's another plot I can do... *big smile* Maybe I will do another plot like that... I have another inspiration now. lol. Maybe I will work on that after I finish one of my fanfics. Thanks for your review.

**unknown** - Thank you!

**TheHeideePayas** - Hehe yup. Rei and the ESP are gonna be pretty OCC towards Mikan in this fanfic. :3 But I think that's sorta part of the point of my fanfic here. I am glad I gave you a new pace for Kuonji and Rei. :) Thanks for your review~

**Melyss** - Thank you!

**OO** - Lol. yeah I know. well most of the chapters are gonna be around 4000-5000 words. Just saying 1000 of those words probably came from the authors note. lol. I am glad you didn't faint. I know, right? I am not really sure Mikan is really two. I asked myself that tons of times. But I felt that if Mikan was too childish, the ESP and Rei wouldn't like her as much. Her being so mature is part of what attracts the two to her so much. :3 Thank you for reading and reviewing!

**lurker** - I know, right? That's why I wanted to write a fanfic like this. More often than not, the ESP is portrayed as the villain and for me, I think that if the ESP was accepted and give the care and love that many seek for, he would have had a softer side to him. :) I wanted to write that. And I wanted to write a story where the one that is 'captured' doesn't want to escape. lol. When I read "MSP and ESP as divorced couple that hate each other guts yet their only good "connection" between them in their child aka Mikan..." I was like laughing really hard. and when I read it again just now. I started laughing again. Because you are totally right, they are. lol. It is very amusing. In many ways, what you said is pretty true. Coz. Mikan is basically their child and they do sorta hate each other's guts. You will see more of that in this chapter. :D lol. I am glad you shared that with me, coz I thought of it a little when I first wrote it, but I didn't really think much about it. I love that. Thank you so much for your review. I loved it~ Very amusing.

I hope I will get more reviewers and readers in the future... I wonder if this was a natsume-mikan fanfic, would more people read it? But nah, I am so not gonna change this. I love Mikan-Persona.

Thanks so much for reviewing, everyone. Now onto the new chapter!

* * *

**[Notes-]**

"Konnichiwa, Hii-sama, Watashi wa Mikan desu. Hajimemashite, douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." Basically, she said, "Hello, Hii-sama. I am Mikan. Look kindly on me (for the future), nice to meet you." Why I did it all in Japanese? Because 1) I wanted to introduce traditional Japanese greetings to you readers. 2) I really like the Japanese culture. 3) I didn't want the thing to be in English or in part English-part Japanese.

"Hai" means "yes".

"Hime" means "princess".

"Gomen" means "sorry".

"Kawaii" means "cute".

'Sugoi" means "wow, awesome".

"-otousan" is a suffix one can use when addressing their father.

I am not sure where Rei actually lives, but it's probably in the teacher's dormitory instead of a random house in the Northern Forest. *shrugs*

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Nah, I don't own Gakuen Alice. Wish I did though. :3 I also wish I had Persona all to myself. :P

Another thing, you might see some typos here and there, coz even though i did proofread it, some of those changes went *poof*. Maybe coz I replaced the old copy with new copy. I am not sure. But yeah. :)

* * *

**Chapter 02 - ****The New Life**

* * *

"Greetings. What do you want?" a boyish yet mature voice called out as the figure of a teenage boy stepped into a traditional styled room.

"Always to the point as always," the woman that was lying sideways on a western-styled couch remarked. She had an out-of-the-world beauty, with her long flowing ink-black wavy hair and a skin tone that was white as the snow. The black hair was done in a simple yet elegant style that suited the purple and gold kimono she was wearing.

"What do you want?" The boy was growing impatient and he had no time for the games that this woman was playing.

"What do _you_ want?" the beauty retorted.

"I want to leave."

"Kuonji, let me meet the girl," the women requested. No, that wasn't a request; it was a command that had the hint of a threat hidden to those who didn't know her well.

"Why would I let you do that?" Kageri said with a speckle of protectiveness.

"Because you wouldn't want me to inform Yukihira of her existence."

"You wouldn't do that." Even though those words were spoken by him, he knew that she would.

"You know better than that," the lady said with a hint of mystery.

"Leave her alone," Kageri demanded.

"It should be me who demands you to leave her alone." Although her tone was calm and even on the surface, you can hear the spite in her voice. "You have already tainted the mother butterfly; there is no need to taint this innocent caterpillar."

The only response Kageri had is silence. He knew he should stop 'tainting' the dear girl, but her company was something that is as vital as oxygen to him.

"Let me meet her," the lady demanded quietly but firmly.

"Fine," Kageri gave in. He doesn't know what he'd do if she were to be taken away from him. "But you will meet her when the basement is done remodeling, _dear_ Hii."

"Fair enough," Hii was smiling on the inside. She had won and gotten what she wanted.

"But you better help covering up her existence in this Academy," Kageri said before turning around and walking away.

"Of course."

* * *

**Three weeks later… with Mikan and Rei…**

For the past three weeks, Mikan has been living with a routine that would seldom change. She would wake up at around 8:30am then she would go for a morning run that kept increasing in length every week. When she returned to Rei's house, he would have left for his lessons already with a note left behind to inform her of his schedule and when he would return. She would start doing push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, squats and stretches (to increase her flexibility). Once she was done with her morning exercise, she would go take a shower before having her breakfast while reading Rei's note. After all that, her schedule would be something like this:

**Around 10am**—Review her studies  
Do her homework

**Around 1pm** – Have lunch  
Study an hour on French (she was already somehow very fluent in English)  
Work on Kageri's paperwork  
Rei returns home

**Around 4pm** – Home-schooling from Rei  
Obstacle courses (for agility)  
Darts (for her aim)  
Gymnastics

**Around 7pm** – Dinner  
Free time

**Around 9pm** – Run. Basics (the push-ups and such)

**Around 10:30pm** – Read with Rei

**Around 11:30** – Sleep

Whenever she was outside, she would have a chain of Alice stones as a necklace (she was taught how to use them). One for illusion, one for teleportation, one for healing, one for telepathy , one for barrier, and one for invisibility. Her speed, agility, flexibility, aim, stamina and strength improved steadily and her studies were also going very well.

"Mi-chan, dinner's ready!" Rei called out as he placed two bowls of rice on the dinner table. The table also had two other Japanese dishes on it as well as two bowls of miso soup. It was a simple dinner that was typical for them.

"Hai, hai. Arigatou, Rei-chi," Mikan responded as she stepped out of the room she currently resided in with a fresh change of clothes. Even though that was her room, she pretty much always slept with Rei-chi in his room. It gave her a sense of security and comfort.

"Here's some miso soup," Rei informed as he sat down and Mikan hopped towards her seat.

"Yay!" Mikan cheered. She loved miso soup, especially the ones Rei makes, it's always so heart-warming. '_Maybe it's because he makes it with all his heart._'

Ever since he knew Mikan was living with him for about a month or less, he had Kageri hire someone from Central Town to secretly teach him how to cook.

"Hey, Rei-chi," Mikan spoke up once she was done with her soup.

"Hm?"

"When is Kage-otousan coming again?"

"I don't know. He's been busy. Whenever I visit, he's usually doing some sort of paperwork."

"I see."

"The basement is almost ready. They just finished adding the furniture and stuff to it. Now they are just putting finishing touches at the place."

"The dolls and books are there too?" True to his words, her Kage-otousan had brought her a book catalogue and she spent half of a day going through it, picking the books she wanted in her personal library.

Rei let out a nervous chuckle before replying, "Of course."

"Yay! By the way… when are we starting on my Alice training?" Mikan questioned and she didn't miss the stiffening of Rei's body at her words.

"I…I am not sure."

Mikan raised her eyebrow at his answer. "You are the one who is my trainer. How can you not be sure about it?"

"Heh…heh… well I haven't really thought about it much," he quickly made up. In fact, he had thought about it a lot, but had to let it go through Kageri first.

"Liar," Mikan remarked, but allowed it to slide, knowing that this was a sensitive subject for both Rei-chi and Kage-otousan.

"Anyways… finish up your dinner. What are you gonna do afterwards?" Rei quickly changed the subject.

"Read maybe? Or maybe you are gonna do something with me? Anything planned?"

"Not really. We can always just sit in silence."

"True. Let's just approach that point when we get there. But first, you gotta get in the shower and I gotta wash the dishes," Mikan said as she got up and got a tiny chair to stand on while washing the dishes. She was still way too short to reach the sink's height by herself, but she was managing. She really hated that height difference.

"Alright alright. Here are the dishes," Rei said as he emptied the dishes that he collected into the sink. He was against her doing the dishes the first two days she was here, but she had managed to convince him that she can handle it by showing him her dish-washing process. Even when she passed, Rei still watched her carefully for the first week before leaving her alone and taking a shower.

"Off you go then~!" Mikan then started up on the dishes. Where she learned how to wash the dishes was still a mystery to Rei, but he kept forgetting to ask.

Rei took his shower at a moderate speed, but he was using his way-above-the-normal hearing to track Mikan and make sure she was alright. No matter how many times she reassured him, he would still worry. '_I mean, she's still a freaking two-year-old, no matter how much she acts like an adult, for Pete's sake.'_ As he was putting on his pants, he suddenly heard the shattering of ceramics and without thinking, he pulled up his pants and made his way out.

"ARE YOU OKAY, MIKAN?" Rei shouted out with fear as he entered the dining room where his open kitchen was located.

"Oh yeah, I am just fine," Mikan looked up from the ground where a shattered plate was.

"What in the world happened?" Rei asked with worry evident in his voice as he approached Mikan.

"Oh nothing serious. I just got startled by a bird flying by and dropped the plate. Hope you don't mind getting a new plate," Mikan said sheepishly.

"All that matters is you are okay," Rei said. _'What a cheesy thing to say…_' Rei thought to himself with an inward chuckle as he scanned over Mikan to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"How cheesy…" Mikan remarked with a grin.

Rei suppressed a blush and muttered, "Mind reader," but Mikan heard him.

"Yeah yeah… so… were you planning on getting a shirt on?" Mikan asked with a raised eyebrow.

This time, Rei couldn't help the barely noticeable tint of red that appeared on his cheeks. "W-Well, I was in a hurry! Sheesh!"

Mikan let out a giggle and just turned around. "Get back to the bathroom and put a shirt on. Then come back and clean that mess up or I am gonna have to―"

"NO!" Rei immediately interrupted. "You are not touching that. Leave it to me. Stay on that chair." Rei commanded before sprinting back to the bathroom and putting on a shirt. When he returned, Mikan was just drying the dishes while humming a tune.

Mikan then stopped her tune to greet him, "Welcome back."

"I haven't even taught you presence sensing yet and you already sense me?" Rei commented as he took out the broom and portable trash bin.

"That's called familiarity and intuition."

"Whatever." Rei didn't bother arguing, knowing that he was dealing with an abnormal two-year-old.

"Hey, I am not abnormal!"

"Uh-huh and dogs can fly," Rei said sarcastically.

"Hmph!" Mikan pouted and puffed out her cheeks.

Rei just let out a chuckle at the cute expression on Mikan's face. This was a typical 'argument' between the two of them. Rei always remarking how Mikan was abnormal or how she wasn't really a two-year-old and she would always get annoyed and puff her cheeks out. '_Sometimes I wonder if I just do that to see that expression…'_

"Bleh!" Mikan stuck her tongue out immaturely.

* * *

**A week later or so… at Rei's place…**

"Kage-otousan! You are here~!" Mikan called out happily and hopped into the teenager's awaiting arms.

"Hello, my dear Mi-chan. How have you been doing?" Kageri asked with love, an expression that only existed when Mikan was there.

"Good good~ I finished packing already! Can we go now?" Mikan asked with excitement clear from the way her body could hardly keep still and that pair of twinkling eyes she sported. Rei just watched on the sidelines. He still couldn't get used to the way Kuonji-sama interacted with Mi-chan, it was just too strange to see such a foreboding man acting so lovingly and warm. '_I bet no one would ever believe me if I ever told them about what I am seeing right now. Only Mi-chan can ever do that to someone. Look at what I have become myself…_' It was true. Without Mikan, Rei realized that he would never be where he is now. He was content with himself and he couldn't help but be grateful that Mikan was there. Without her, he knows for sure that he would have become someone that was distant, self-hating, cold and someone that wouldn't be who he is now. Sure, he is still that distant and cold person on the outside, but his inside was only there because Mikan was there for him.

Suddenly, Mikan's voice broke him out of his reverie. "Rei-chi! Guess what?"

"What is it?" Rei asked as he met Mikan's excited eyes.

"Kage-otousan had a personal room built for you in **my** basement suite and he said that the entire basement is now under **my** control!" Mikan replied putting an emphasis on "my" whenever it was mentioned.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Kuonji-sama," Rei thanked respectfully and inwardly pondered about how Mikan's new suite looks like and how the whole basement is now under her.

"You are welcome," Kageri curtly said. There was a little tension around them and you could see that they weren't comfortable with each other in this warm setting, but all that mattered to them was that Mikan was there. She was their link.

"Aw! Quit the formality! From now on, if you guys keep on being so formal around each other…" Mikan trailed off, leaving a threat hanging to their imagination.

Both Kageri and Rei felt a slight shiver coming down their spine at the unsaid threat, Mikan was truly a devil hiding with an angel's appearance. They had experienced it first-hand.

'_I wonder what others would say if they heard that both Kuonji-sama and I were intimidated by a two-year-old, I bet they would think they were having illusions,_' Rei thought and a grin subconsciously appeared on his face.

"What are you grinning about? What your punishment would have been?" Mikan asked with an evil glint in her eyes.

"N-No. Of course not!" Rei quickly replied back. He would never grin at the thought of a punishment given by Mikan. She was truly a devious child that can be as angelic as the angels themselves.

"Enough, Mi-chan. We don't need to scare Persona anymore. Let's go already. The new suite is waiting for us," Kageri then slightly scolded. Even though he knew Rei's given name, he never felt comfortable using it like Mikan did, especially since it was a _certain someone_ who gave Rei that name.

"Okay! Off we go then~!" Mikan said as she turned back to face Kageri in his arms.

"Oh yeah… Mi-chan?" Kageri suddenly brought up.

"Huh?"

"The middle school principal wanted to… she wanted to meet you and I consented to letting her meet you when you return to the basement… so we are going to meet her first before going to the suite. Persona will have to go ahead of us," Kageri said with a grimace. He didn't like the idea of Hii meeting Mikan, but he knew he had to or else he would lose her and he would practically do everything within his power to prevent that.

"It's okay! I understand~ don't worry about it! Everything is going to be fine. I don't mind meeting her, I guess…" Mikan reassured with a soft smile and Rei's brows furrowed together with worry. Although Mikan didn't show it, both Kageri and Rei knew that she was feeling anxious and a little scared at the same time. She was a brave person with a lot of courage, but she had developed xenophobia, the phobia of strangers. However, she understood that she has to do this, it was a necessity. After all, she was basically living under Hii's roof.

"Mi-chan…" Kageri was worried, however unlike him that might be.

"Kage-otousan, Rei-chi… don't worry about this, please. We all knew this was inevitable." Mikan was right. Even though it was deep inside their hearts, they all knew that it was inevitable.

"But…" Rei began with worry still etched into his features.

"Rei-chi," Mikan said firmly with a tone of finality and a warning look, meaning she was done with this topic. "Let's go already! I wanna see my new suite as soon as possible!"

"Alright then, let's go," Kageri said with a small smile, knowing it's better to go along with her.

* * *

**A little later… in front of Hii's place…**

_Knock, knock._

"Come in please," a melodious voice called out as the figure continued to fan herself gracefully. The person that she couldn't wait to meet was finally here. She had sensed their arrival into the barrier. Knowing that they were coming today, she had purposefully left their entry through the main entrance open. She had also purposely evacuated the room and told everyone not to come by since she wanted to rest without being interrupted.

"Greetings, Hii," a voice greeted formally as the door to the room slid open and Kageri entered along with a brown-and-blonde-haired child behind him that was holding onto his right hand with both of her tiny hands. She then released her hold to close the door before returning to her hiding place behind Kageri. Then subtly, curiosity caused a pair of hazel-colored eyes to peek out.

Before entering the Hanahime Palace, Mikan had questioned Kageri about what the MSP was like. Kageri had answered, "A beauty that hates men. Before you ask why, I don't know the exact reason. She has her own way of doing things. She is pretty much like a ruling queen."

And right now, she can see the truth in his words. Her aura was one of a royalty, her beauty was one of a kind and her posture and actions were performed with grace.

"Hello, little one…" Hii greeted the child. Kageri and Hii didn't bother greeting one another, they might have known each other for a long long time and have the same power, but there was obviously much disdain and tension between the two.

"Konnichiwa, Hii-sama. Watashi wa Mikan desu. Hajimemashite, douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu," Mikan greeted shyly with a formal bow after she stepped out of her hiding place.

"Please drop the formality," Hii said with a kind smile. '_She really does resemble **her**… I wonder whose personality she takes after?_'

"Hai," Mikan then lifted her head to face Hii with a small smile on her face. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"Didn't I tell you to drop the formality?" Hii lightly scolded. "A two-year-old really shouldn't talk like that."

"I un– hai," Mikan began but remembering what Hii was saying, she immediately corrected herself. Mikan's posture loosened and she was just standing casually now.

"Good."

"So why did you want to meet me, Hii-sama?" Mikan questioned semi-formally with a tilt of her head.

"You felt the connection that I felt. Did you not?"

Mikan felt her eyes widen and looking from the corner of her eye, she saw that there were traces of shock in her Kage-otousan's eyes as well. '_So she felt that too. Hm…_' Mikan thought to herself with a smile. "Yes, I did," she answered.

"That's what I thought. So Mikan dear… would you like to become one of my hime?"

"One of your hime?" Mikan questioned unsurely, shooting a glance towards her otousan quickly.

Catching the unsure glance that Mikan sent his way, Kageri quickly intervened, "Hii, what in the world do you mean?"

"Kuonji," Hii acknowledged with annoyance. She definitely hated talking to men. "I meant what I said."

"She's supposed to be living here secretly."

Hii raised her eyebrow elegantly. "And? I never said she was going to be publically known. Did I?"

"Oh?"

"Whenever my other hime are not here and when it's an appropriate time, Mikan no kimi can come here to learn from me along with being in my company," Hii explained patiently.

Mikan was interested, but she knew her Kage-otousan had to give his consent. If he didn't… well then, she would just have to use some of her persuasion skills.

"Why would I allow that?"

"Because two ruffians like you and that boy of yours would not be able to take care of her properly. I do not want such a rare hime to turn out like that particularly disgusting species."

'_I wonder why she despises men so much… maybe I can ask her later._' Mikan pondered to herself.

"Ruffians?" Kageri repeated, feeling offended.

"I am sorry, but that was the _kindest_ word I could think of to describe the two of you," Hii said unapologetically with innocence.

Mikan couldn't help but giggle at Hii's words and she could feel the glare coming from Kageri, which only made her giggle even more.

"Gomen, Kage-otousan," Mikan did sort of feel bad for giggling at him, but… "But… you and Rei-chi as ruffians?" Then Mikan burst into laughter. Hii let out a smile at the annoyed-but-can't-do-anything look on Kageri's face and the melodious giggles coming from Mikan. She knew that she wouldn't regret the decision to help care for Mikan.

"Yeah yeah. But having Mikan learn from you?" Kageri questioned unsurely.

"Kage-otousan…" Mikan called out with a sweet voice and angelic expression.

"Yes, Mi-chan?" Kageri was sure she was up to no good.

"Didn't you say that you wanted me to learn about etiquettes and all those other stuff? Like Japanese traditional dancing and all those other dances? Plus, this can help my elegance as well. We can also work on all those other stuff that you wanted me to learn but _never_ have the time to find me a teacher," Mikan informed, making Kageri feel slightly guilty.

"W-Well…" Kageri began, trying to think of a reason for his lack of time.

"Well?" Mikan placed her arms on her waist in a classic you-are-in-trouble pose.

"Fine! If you really want to, then you can work with her! Happy?" Kageri said dejectedly, melting under the intenseness of Mikan's stare.

"Good!" Mikan exclaimed with a big smile and then she turned to face Hii, who has been watching the exchange with amusement and interest. "Well then… when do you want to start this? Preferably at night or on the weekends. I am pretty busy and occupied during the week."

"I understand. That's fine by me, we can't do anything on the day time during the week anyways," Hii replied, glad that Mikan decided to take up on her offer.

"Okay. But when should we start?" Mikan nodded her head in understanding.

"After you have finished settling in. Maybe in a week or so."

"How about after I took care of everything, I will have Kage-otousan drop my available times for you and then the next time he comes by, he can pick up your reply? Is that okay with you, Kage-otousan?"

"Yes, that's fine. That way we can avoid any chances of someone discovering your existence or Persona being here. As long as that's okay with you as well, Hii," Kageri replied with a nod and glanced at Hii, daring her to say otherwise.

"Of course that's okay, _Mikan no kimi_. As long as it's for you and not for those _dreadful_ ruffians," Hii replied with a small smirk that didn't affect her elegant features at all. She had purposefully pretended Kageri wasn't there and ignored him.

Kageri didn't say anything, but his eyes did darken slightly, he obviously didn't like to be insulted.

"Problem solved then!" Mikan said cheerfully with a warm smile, ignoring the obvious dispute between the two principals. Her smile caused the other two to smile in return. She had this natural charisma that made others feel comfortable around her. "Alright. May we be excused now, Hii-sama? I would love to go visit my new suite!"

"Of course you may. Until next time then, Mikan no kimi."

"Byebye!" Mikan called out as she took hold of Kageri's hand and pulled him out of the door. Before closing the door, she turned around and bowed.

When their footsteps disappeared down the hall, Hii remarked fondly with a smile, "What an energetic and kawaii hime."

* * *

**At a corridor within the newly remodeled basement…**

"Okay, Mi-chan. Let's give you some quick information before entering," Kageri said as they stopped in front of a wall that was along the corridor.

"Hai! What is it?" Mikan asked anxiously.

"First of all, this in front of us is an illusion of a wall. You must have an Alice stone in order to enter. But you can't **just **enter with an Alice stone. You also have to be the right person handling the stone. This barrier and illusion that surrounds you is a special one. It not only rejects unwelcomed visitors, repel attacks of all kind and prohibit the usage of Alice within the barrier, but it also recognizes the people who are within it or want to control it. Using computer technology developed by Alices, my Alice scientists also enhanced the security and types of technology within the suite. Because of that, the technology here is way ahead of the rest of the world and gakuen. Plus, this suite is also sound proof, sound goes in if you wanted, but it doesn't go out. This barrier is also a one of a kind especially for you because of your nullification Alice, you can use you Alices freely as you wish, but when you do not wish to use it, this barrier will help you maintain the stability of your present and future Alices. This hallway also automatically locks the entrance, puts up the illusion of a wall over the entrance, and prevents further entry into the hallway when the authorized people are entering or exiting the suite. This only occurs if there is no one in this hallway. But if there are people in the hallway, you can check through the invisible security cameras that are along the hallway. For both situations, when someone is entering or exiting the suite, an illusion is put up of a normal hallway so if someone ever sends a bug of some sort or anything, they won't discover anything abnormal. Though if someone unauthorized or unregistered in the data base of the hallway's security system does enter the Den or is within the Den, you will get notified. This entire suite also has a forcefield of sorts that would render all tracking devices/spying technology useless." Kageri then paused for a moment to let all of the information be absorbed before continuing.

"Second of all, once you start learning how to use your Alices, one of the first things that you learn will be how to manipulate your natural and acquired Alices to suit your needs and control it so that it doesn't get out of control. You will also learn how to use your Alices to enter and control the suite instead of using Alice stones. When you have mastered your original Alices and begin to learn the acquired Alices, they will be divided into different sets. The first Alices that you are going to copy and learn are mind-reading, telepathy, telekinesis, barrier, flying, x-ray, illusion and possibly different pheromone Alices. Also, Alices that involves enhancing your senses like sight and hearing might also be learnt. After you master all those, you are going to move onto the elements Alice and other basic offensive Alices before moving onto those other ones," Kageri explained with Mikan listening intently. She was excited that her Alice studies are finally going to start. Being able to use her Alices freely and at will seems to be very fun.

"Hm… Kage-otousan…"

"Yes?"

"For the first set of Alices that I am going to learn… am I allowed to place the 'placing a soul into a stuffed toy' Alice into there as well?" Mikan asked with sparkling hope-filled eyes.

Like Rei, Kageri is also slightly scared of the thought of Mikan's stuffed toys having a soul in them, but those eyes are so persuading and she would be so happy too… '_No no! Must not let her eyes affect me or else…'_ Kageri mentally shivered. "Unfortunately, no." Mikan's eyes immediately transformed into sad puppy dog eyes that breaks Kageri's heart, but he must not give in. "One, you would have too many Alices to focus on. Two, we need you to learn all of those Alices that I listed first and you need to learn control. Third, you need to be older before you may learn how to handle a needle and sew an actual stuffed toy if you wanted to make your own stuffed toys."

"Alright… I guess I understand… but aren't darts more dangerous than a mere needle?" Mikan agreed reluctantly.

"No. Because those darts you are using right now are mere magnetic darts."

"Fine. Anyways, can we go inside now?"

"Sure."

Kageri pulled out two smooth-looking stones from his pocket and held in his hand. One of the stones began to glow and in front of them, the illusional wall disappeared and there was a pair of mahogany door in front of them. Then the other stone began to glow and Mikan could see the appearance of an opening around the door.

"The Alice functions of this suite are powered by Alice stones. Right now, I am having my scientists develop the use of Alice stones so that we don't have to use up the stone as quickly. Possibly in the future, it's likely that the suite won't only rely on Alice stones," Kageri informed.

"Well after I master my Alices, I can help. But is there a special Alice for that technical stuff?" Mikan asked, turning her head to face Kageri.

"Yes, there are. There are Alices of invention, chemistry, cooking, sewing, drawing and others. Those Alices will probably be part of the third set of Alices that you are going to master."

"I see. Well then, about when―" Mikan began but was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Quickly, Kageri and Mikan jumped back to avoid the door slamming into them.

"What the heck?" Mikan cried out as she landed on the floor safely.

"What― huh?" A voice questioned as the door pushed completely open, revealing a black-haired child.

"Rei!" Mikan shouted when she saw the person that almost caused her to be injured. "You almost hit both Kage-otousan and I!"

"Oh?" Then understanding flashed in his eyes. "Sorry! Mi-chan, are you okay?" Rei asked worriedly with panic as he suddenly appeared in front of Mikan and examined her for injuries, not noticing the look of annoyance Kageri sent him.

"I am fine…" Mikan sweatdropped at the over-protectiveness shown by Rei.

"Sorry sorry. I was wondering why you guys took so long and I had finished checking out the suite, so I was planning on waiting for you guys out here or near the Den's door."

"Uh-huh, the meeting with Hii-sama took a while. But we worked something out," Mikan nodded her head in agreement and her words were spoken with excitement.

"Huh?" Rei asked with confusion. "Mind informing me what you guys talked about?"

"I am going to become one of her hime and I am also going to start taking lessons of dances and other stuff from her. We are also going to be working on my elegance and grace."

"Seriously?" Rei questioned and looked at Kageri for confirmation. Kageri nodded his head and Rei's eyes widened. This was obviously a shocking piece of information for him. He knew that the two principals didn't get along and that Hii is not just anyone who would offer her help like that. '_Who is Mikan? Now that I think about it… Kuonji-sama never did inform me the background of Mikan. What I know about her is learnt from conversations with her. Who is she?_' Rei thought as he stole a glance at Kageri.

"Yup! She was also so nice and pretty!" Mikan commented. "Uh… can I finally go into my suite now? I have been waiting for _way _too long. I want to know what it turned out like."

"Oh! Okay. Sure, it's was a very well done job," Rei said as he jumped off to the side

"Obviously, only the best for Mikan," Kageri spoke up with a satisfied grin.

"Thank you, Kage-otousan~! Let's go in then!" Mikan took hold of Rei's and Kageri's hand, dragging them with her as she entered the suite.

* * *

**Later in the suite…**

"Sugoi! This place is SO pretty and awesome!" Mikan said when she finished touring around the entire place. It really was.

The suite was mainly done in gold, purple, white, black, and silver. The furniture was also very elegant and modern with comfortableness in the materials and features. Three words that would describe the room would be elegant, modern and awesome. It was practically a dream house. Kageri didn't lie, everything was the best here. The best kitchen, the best library (yes, she loved that library, it was just so awesome), the most advance training grounds, her own swimming pool, her own music rooms (yes rooms, they were also all sound proof), her own ice-skating rank, her own dance studio, and her own personal robot maid to do the chores and serve her.

This suite is also multistory with at least seven levels to it (how Kageri had his workers dig so deep without anyone noticing is a mystery). The most bottom level is the swimming pool along with the skating rank and dance studio, the negative sixth level is her training grounds, the negative fifth level is her library, the music rooms and a few studies. The negative fourth level is her master bedroom with two other rooms (one is especially for Rei). Her room had a huge build-in closet, a personal bathroom with the most relaxing bath and shower, a king-sized bed, a mahogany desk and other furniture that was scattered around the room. The theme of her room was gold and purple and it was made to be comfortable yet elegant. The negative third level is the other free rooms with their own personal bathrooms. The negative second level was the kitchen with the dining room. The most top level (where the door to the suite was located) has the living room, game room and recreation room. There were also two elevators and two pair of stairs within the suite and they both require identification in order to use it, but like the illusion and barrier Alice that's used on the suite, it recognizes you. If it didn't, then it would deny you access even if you use an Alice to pretend to be the people with the authorization.

"I am glad that you like it, Mikan," Kageri said with a proud smile.

"I love you, Kage-otousan. This is the most awesome house ever!" Mikan declared as she ran towards Kageri to give him a big hug full of thanks. "Thank you so much!"

"Anything for you, Mikan."

"I know," Mikan whispered softly as her hold on Kageri tightened.

* * *

Thanks for reading this new chapter. :) I hope you guys enjoyed it. I think Mikan no kimi is what the MSP calls Mikan, correct me if I am wrong. Don't you love this new place that Mikan owns? lol. The ESP just doesn't seem like the kind of person who would let Mikan, his beloved daughter, live in a dungeon that is dirty and such.

It would be nice if you guys leave your feedback.

Bye~ Until next time~

~Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 12-12-10  
**Edited:** 12-13-10Thank you to lurker for pointing out my mistake in Mikan's introduction, when I read it I felt SO stupid~! I accidentally had mikan introduce herself as Sakura Mikan when she is clearly not able to remember the last name she had. lol. Thanks so much, lurker~! But i wonder why no one else caught that (including myself)... lol. :D But yeah, now it's fixed.  
**Edited: **03-15-11 Meh... found more mistakes while I was reading through it, so here's the new edited version.  
**Edited:** 10-07-11


	3. Chapter 03: The Captured

**A/N:** Heya there~ Sorry for taking a few days before updating the next chapter. I was just really busy with school work and didn't have time to post a new chapter even though I had it written already. Plus, I needed to proofread it and change up some stuff, so I didn't get to it until just now. :3 Thanks for everyone who reviewed! Like last time, I am going to be replying to your reviews here~! Thanks for the favorites and story alerts as well! You guys are awesome!

* * *

**Akatsuki Utaou****:** Thank you so much! And yeah... Mikan is a prodigy now that I think about it. hehe. Thanks for the review!

**Resty****:** hehe. Thank you so much! Yup~ hehe. Ooo, Mikan and Rei having a relationship like the Kuran siblings... :3 I like that idea. You are right, Rei would be an overprotective brother who wants to marry his beloved little sister. That would be so so kawai~! Thanks for the review!

**TheHeideePayas****:** Thank you! Thanks for the review as well~! :3

**melyss****:** Yup. I think so... I haven't really seen any fanfics where the ESP was nice. Thanks! Thanks for the review as well~!

**lurker****:** :D I hope I will include more of those divorced couple moments in the future~ ...*bangs head against the wall* I am an idiot. When I first read your review, I was like... "crap. I did that, didn't I?" And I immediately wanted to change it, but I didn't get to change it till like that night. It's changed now though. I wonder why no one noticed that? You were the only one to point that out. Thank you so much for pointing it out! You are right, Mikan doesn't remember her last name. Most of the story is going to be pretty tamed for a while, sorta, but I think it might pick up pace sooner or later, who knows? This story is not gonna have a lot of conflicts, but yeah, it's gonna eventually have some bigger conflicts. Yup~! hehe. I love the divorced couple ESP and MSP. lol. Thanks so much for your review!

* * *

[**Notes**]―

"Yoru" = night

"Hanahime Den" = 'Hana' is flower and 'hime' is princess so 'Hanahime' means 'flower princess'.

"-otousan" is a suffix that is used as a casual way of saying 'father' or 'dad'. Usually people, would just call their father figure 'otousan' but Mikan likes to refer to everyone with their names, so she uses part of the ESP's name and use the '-otousan' suffix whenever she's talking to or referring to the ESP. "Kage-otousan"

**[more notes at the end of chapter]**

If you have anything you don't get, feel free to ask.

* * *

"_this_" is said via telepathy

'_this'_ is someone's thoughts

"this" is normal speaking

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice. wish i did. *shrugs* who doesn't?

**_Enjoy~!_**

* * *

**Chapter 03 - The Captured**

* * *

**Five years later…**

Mikan was now seven years old and she was much adjusted to the secretive life she was leading. She had spent the first week rearranging her schedule since she had to fit lessons with the MSP and Alice training into her days. She had Alice trainings three times a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) while her academic lessons were on Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays. Her lesson with the MSP would be on Sundays. Her schedule from Monday to Saturday was somewhat like this:

**Around 8am**―Wake up  
Morning run  
Basics (push-ups and etc.)  
Breakfast while reading Rei's note

**Around 10am**—Review her studies  
Do her homework and deal with paperwork

**Around 1pm** – Have lunch  
Study an hour on foreign language  
More paperwork and such  
Rei returns home

**Around 4pm** – Home-schooling or Alice training from Rei  
Obstacle courses + darts + gymnastics  
Combat and weapons training

**Around 7pm** – Dinner  
Free time

**Around 9pm** – Run. Basics (the push-ups and such)

**Around 10:30pm** – Read with Rei

**Around 11:30** – Sleep

Then on Sundays, she would wake up around 9am and have lessons from the MSP from 11am-4pm. Right now, she was working on tea ceremony and mastering the different styles of walking. Afterwards, she would work on paperwork and wait for Rei to drop by. Once he is there, she would hang out with him and sometimes they would go out of the Hanahime Den after getting permission from the ESP through the phone. She sometimes accompanied him in training the newly formed Dangerous Ability Class in the form of a black cat. Whenever the black cat was there, the students of the DA class could see that Persona was more at peace and less harsh/cruel, which was why they often celebrated the cat's presence.

It's been five years since she started the Alice training. It took her six months to fully master her natural Alices. Now she can copy/steal/insert Alices within seconds without the Alice user noticing. As for her nullification Alice, she learned to easily build nullification barriers over specific people within the barrier or exclude people. She also learned how to shape her Alice into a physical form that she can throw at someone to either nullify all uses of Alice from the receiver or nullify all Alice uses towards the receiver. Afterwards, it took nine months for the first set, nine months for the second and six months for the third set. It then generally took six months to master each set of Alices. For another three months, she learned how to use multiple Alices at the same time with the goal of using them with ease and easily using multiple Alices for a long time. At the moment, she's learning the Alices acquired from the Special Ability class, Dangerous Ability class, Rei's and the ESP's Alice.

Not long after she started her Alice training, she started her combat and weapons training as well. Right now, she was learning how to handle guns and rifles. Since she had been practicing her aim for so long now, it was much easier to aim accurately with an armed weapon.

"Yoru! Ginger!" Mikan called out as she stepped out of her study. She was dressed in a purple tank top and black short shorts, this was her usual clothing inside the suite (unless she's sleeping). The temperature within the suite was the same all year long.

A black cat and a ginger-colored cat raced towards Mikan at the sound of their name.

Mikan held out her arms as both cats hopped into her awaiting arms. "My, maybe I should put you guys on a diet…" Mikan muttered to herself and both cats immediately meowed in protest. Mikan grinned as she said, "But you guys are getting so fat. Even though I love Garfield, I don't want you guys turning into him."

The two cats began rubbing their cheeks against Mikan's arm, pleading to not have a cut in their amount of food. The food that their master provided was just too tasty and fulfilling, maybe it was because it was made by her.

"Then you guys have to exercise more. If you guys' weight keeps increasing, then…" Mikan trailed off, leaving the threat hanging.

The two cats started nodding their heads, showing that they will definitely listen to her.

She had gotten Yoru as a Christmas present from the ESP and Ginger as a birthday present when she was five going six. She loved them and they just adored her. They would follow her everywhere, accompanied her while she trained and slept with her and Rei during the night.

Yes, she still slept with Rei. She had a very close relationship with Rei and they were perfectly comfortable with sleeping next to each other. More often than not, they ended up snuggling against each other with Rei's arms around her, but it was something normal to them, even when they were awake.

"Hey Yoru, Ginger," Mikan suddenly called out, causing the two cats to look up at their master. "I will be gone for a week the day after tomorrow."

The cats started looking at Mikan with big pleading eyes.

When Mikan looked down, she regretted her decision immediately. "Mou, stop looking at me with those eyes!"

The cats just intensified their pleading eyes.

Feeling her resolve to leave the two cats here waiver, she just gave up. "Fine! I will bring your guys ,alright? Happy? I gotta ask Kage-otousan for permission though."

Yoru and Ginger purred in satisfaction and licked Mikan's cheek with gratitude.

"Geez, you two really are spoiled and get whatever you want." Mikan shook her head with an exasperated smile.

The cats' eyes had a sparks of smugness.

"Ne, I wonder when Rei will get back?" Mikan pondered as she walked towards the kitchen to prepare dinner for the humans and cats. She had grown out of calling Rei with the '-chi' suffix and usually preferred to call him 'Rei'. "I guess I should start preparing dinner now. Off you go, play with each other for now."

The cats nodded before jumping off.

* * *

**Two days later…**

"Rei! Are you ready?" Mikan called out as she teleported her luggage and bag into the awaiting car that was parked by the gakuen's gates. She had just returned from bidding goodbye to the ESP and the MSP.

"Yes, I am ready," Rei walked out of his supposed room with a luggage bag and her two cats following him. (Supposed room because he rarely sleeps there.)

"Okay, let's teleport to the car already then. Yoru, Ginger, get onto Rei. Rei, come here," Mikan instructed and they complied willingly. Mikan held onto Rei's arm and in the blink of an eye, they had arrived in front of a black limo.

A man in black bowed in greeting and opened the door for them to enter. They got in and settled into the seats. The two men who were escorting them were devoted followers of the ESP and the one that greeted them had the illusion Alice in order to make sure that no one would notice Mikan being there when she is getting into the limo. The two men were both drivers because one would drive while the other kept watch and they would switch halfway into the drive. They weren't _just_ drivers. They were also highly trained agents and bodyguards. Whenever Mikan had to leave the gakuen's grounds by car, these two would be her drivers and bodyguards.

"Narumi-san is going to arrive after us, right?" Mikan asked with a seemingly nonchalant smile as the car came to life and the soundproof screen between the front seats and the riders was already up.

"You already know the answer. You _were_ the one who arranged the meetings and such so that he would be at least one day late," Rei replied with a grin.

"True. But you know you like the fact that you don't have to ride with him and can ride with me instead."

"Of course. Narumi has turned too dramatic and nonsense."

"But this is still going to be a long car ride since it takes like ten hours to get there," Mikan replied as she stood up and pulled Rei to the part of the couch where the corner is. Rei sat down with his legs lying straight on one side of the couch while his back laid against the couch-wall. Mikan then laid back on the unoccupied side of the couch with her head in Rei's lap. Rei then opened a secret compartment within the couch-wall on the left of him. He pulled out a book and handed it to Mikan before getting one for himself.

"Arigato," Mikan said as she began reading the back of the book.

"No problem," Rei responded as he closed the compartment.

Rei began reading his book while absentmindedly playing with Mikan's hair.

* * *

**Eleven hours later…**

"Finally! We are here!" Mikan cheered as she stepped out of the limo with her cats following her.

Rei, who was already outside, closed his phone and smiled in agreement. After six hours of reading, Mikan had fallen asleep and her cats had brought her a blanket to cover her up.

"Did you just call Kage-otousan?" Mikan surveyed her surroundings while walking towards Rei . They were in front of a gakuen-owned two-storied house. They would have been staying at a hotel, but there weren't any hotels nearby.

"Yeah, he said Narumi is still stuck in his predicament and probably would be at least one more day late," Rei replied with a nod and the limo began driving away to park somewhere else for the time being.

"Oh really? Huh," Mikan said with an innocent expression, but Rei knew better.

"Mi-chan, cunning as always."

"You know it. Well, wanna scout a little first?" Mikan asked as she took out her phone (that she got from Rei as a birthday present) and checked the time.

"Sure, but let's place our luggage into our room first." Rei gestured towards the luggage.

Mikan placed her hands onto the luggage and soon, it disappeared into thin air. "Done."

Rei chuckled and held out his hand for Mikan to take. "Well then, shall we go?"

* * *

**Sometime later…**

"This town is so peaceful and relaxing… This would be an ideal place to live in. Too bad this peace is going to end soon," Mikan remarked with a tinge of sadness as they wandered around town while hold hands.

"Mikan…" Rei began.

"Don't worry about it. I will do what's needed and make sure everything doesn't get out of hand," Mikan said with a reassuring smile.

Suddenly, one of the town's residents walked into their view and Mikan's hold on Rei's hand tightened and her body stiffened, beginning to shake in fear.

"It's okay, Mikan," Rei whispered into her ear and hugged her reassuringly, waiting for the person to pass them by. Rei nodded in acknowledgement when the man greeted them with a smile and a nod. When Mikan sensed that the man's presence has completely disappeared from the street, she peeked out from the hug so that her sight can make sure the stranger is really gone.

"Thank you, Rei," Mikan said as Rei released his arms around her and took a step back.

Rei nodded with a smile and held out his hand for her to take again. "Shall we head there now so that we can get a head start?"

"Yes, let's do that."

* * *

**When they reach their destination…**

"Very nice house that they have," Mikan remarked as they stopped before the house's gates. A plaque on the gate read "Hyuuga".

"You have the special amplification Alice stone with you, right?" Rei questioned.

"Yes, it's in my pocket." Mikan used her right hand that was free to take out an Alice stone.

"How would you like to do this?"

"Let's just deliver it through my cat form. They don't need to see my real form..." Both Rei and Mikan knew that there was an unspoken "yet" at the end of her sentence.

"Alright then, should I wait for you out here?"

"Yeah." Mikan let go of his hand and placed the Alice stone in Rei's hand before using her Alice to transform into a black cat with her own hazel brown eyes. When she transforms into a cat, she uses her teleportation Alice to teleport her clothes inside a locket for storing purposes (made by her invention Alice) that's hanging from the black collar around her cat form. Rei held out the stone for her to take and she took hold of it with her mouth. _"I will be back,"_ she said via telepathy.

Rei nodded as she jumped over the fence and raced off.

Mikan hopped onto the roof and using her x-ray Alice, she tried to locate the best window sill to use. She found Hyuuga-san's bedroom '_Nah._'… the bathroom '_Like that's gonna help.'_ …a boy's bedroom with the target in there '_He would be too cautious and that's not the room I am looking for anyways._' …a storeroom '_No.'_ …a girl's bedroom with the target's sister inside '_**Bingo**_.'

From the start, she had already planned on using the target's sister, Hyuuga Aoi, as the stone's victim. Aoi would be the least suspicious and she's the easiest to target. Aoi had black straight hair with red eyes. If her height had matched up with her brother, Natsume's, then they could easily be mistaken as twins.

She slid down to the window sill of Aoi's room using a pipeline and released a muffled meow, instantly catching the four-year-old girl's attention. Aoi rushed over to the window and opened it with a smile.

"Hello, little kitty!" Aoi greeted, not even a hint of concern about it being a black cat. People had said that black cats were an omen of bad luck, but she never believed them.

Mikan meowed in response.

"So what's a kitty like you doing here?" Aoi asked as she picked Mikan up and carried the cat over to her futon.

Opening her mouth, Mikan dropped the Alice stone in front of herself. Using her paw, she pushed the stone towards Aoi.

Aoi's eyes widened in surprise and delight as she took in the sight of the pretty-colored stone, not at all suspicious about a random cat bringing her a present. "Is this for me?"

Mikan nodded her head.

"How come?" Aoi questioned with curiosity as if the cat can answer her. Well, the cat can, but Aoi didn't know that.

Mikan didn't reply, but she watched Aoi with her eyes. If everything goes as planned, Aoi will start living in the other part of the Hanahime Den's basement. One that is slightly more luxurious than the other prisons, but _way_ less luxurious than Mikan's suite. On top of that, Mikan planned on training Aoi in using her Alice so that she would have more control over her Alice in the future.

"Thank you so much!" Aoi said with a bright smile. "It's so pretty! I love it!"

Mikan nodded her head and started licking her paw. Now, onto the next phase of the plan… She was sure that Aoi is going to be keeping this with her everywhere. Oh, this wasn't an ordinary Alice stone. This specific Alice stone will start 'crazying' up one's Alice and soon Aoi's body is going to respond by starting a fever to try and kill the (nonexistent) bacteria or whatever that are causing this problem. But as long as Aoi keeps that Alice stone with her, Mikan's plan will succeed. Mikan had also used a hypnotizing Alice that she acquired on the stone to make sure that Aoi will be keeping the stone with her the entire time. No one will realize that Aoi has been hypnotized by the stone. And only Aoi will be hypnotized by the stone.

_Meow._

Aoi looked up from the stone and asked, "What is it?"

Mikan gestured towards the window and raised her paw as a sign of farewell.

"Oh, you are leaving already?" Aoi questioned with disappointment.

Mikan nodded her head and hopped off the futon.

"Alright then. Byebye, little kitty!"

Mikan jumped up onto the windowsill and leaped down gracefully. She raced to the bushes and transformed into a human once again. Using her teleportation Alice, her clothes appeared on her as soon as she finished transforming. No one would have been able to see a single flash of skin that they weren't supposed to. Using teleportation once again, she appeared beside Rei.

"Let's go. We are done here," she announced as her hand took hold of Rei's.

"Alright. Everything went okay? Any problems?" Rei asked as they began walking away from the house.

"No, everything went as planned."

"I am glad. Let's get back and enjoy our day together before Narumi comes. All we can do now is to wait."

"Let's teleport back then. I have some paperwork to finish anyways."

"Do you want help?"

"No, it's okay. Just stay with me." Mikan teleported them to the living room of the house they currently lived in.

"Want to eat first though?" Rei asked as he headed to the kitchen.

"Sure, why not? I haven't tasted your cooking in so long."

"Then you can start on your paperwork, I will call you when I am done."

"I will do that. Thank you."

* * *

**Five days later… at night…**

Three days ago, Narumi had finally arrived and had situated into the house. Rei gave Narumi a report of the current condition and after that, Rei and Narumi didn't interact with each other much except during meal times. Narumi L. Anju is a quite recent graduate (age 23) who became a Japanese teacher in the elementary division of Gakuen Alice. Narumi has blond hair that curls at the end and reaches to his shoulder. He is also the owner of a pair of purple eyes with a beauty mark under his left eye and has on several Alice restraints, a necklace, a ring on his ring finger, and an earring on his left ear lobe. He is quite feminine looking and can easily be mistaken as a woman. He is usually dressed in a white dress shirt with black or purple jeans and brown shoes. Narumi has changed a lot since he was in high school. In high school, he was pretty antisocial, cold and quite disobedient, completely different than the way he is now. He also used to control others, even the teachers, with his Alice and had a lot of girlfriends. Nowadays, he's carefree, cheerful, sociable, and rules abiding.

After Mikan investigated a little, she found out that there was a person that Narumi had fallen in love with, a person going by the name Azumi Yuka. Yuka has three Alices, the teleportation Alice, the stealing Alice, and the inserting Alice, much like her own Alices. Yuka had soon fallen in love with the Special Ability class moderating teacher, Yukihira Izumi, who is also the current HSP's younger brother. Izumi and Yuka eventually got together, but Narumi stayed in love with Yuka still and it was actually Izumi who introduced Narumi to Yuka.

Mikan also discovered that Izumi was the sensei that Rei had been raised by. It was also Izumi who named Rei "Rei", but it was Rei who had killed his sensei at the swaying of Kage-otousan and his own outburst of emotions. (She learned that from Rei and it was also Rei who told her that it was his sensei who named him.) Anyways, after a while, Yuka had escaped the gakuen and became part of the Z organization, one of the many AAO organizations. After Yuka had left, there were reports of Narumi doing more undercover work for the gakuen and he was depressed and even more anti-social. But after graduation and he became a teacher at the gakuen, his personality became more and more towards the positive side of life.

But Mikan can tell, even though he acts cheerful and easy-going. Narumi was still hurting and he still had feelings for his Yuka-senpai (even though it was supposed to be gone). He became a teacher because of her, he wanted to change the gakuen from the inside and he wanted to help his students' life be something that wasn't like his, just as Yuka had requested and how Izumi dreamed it to be. Whether he was doing that intentionally of unconsciously, Mikan didn't know.

Even though she has never met Narumi in person, she rather liked him. The gakuen and its students needed someone like him.

But back to the point… At first, this was supposed to be a Narumi and Makihara mission, but Mikan had interfered and set Narumi and all the other teachers to be busy so that only Rei was available to go on the two-men mission officially. But Narumi was allowed to stay on this mission because first, he used to do some undercover work for the school, second, his pheromone Alice will be useful, and third, he's the only appropriate adult on this mission and since it's more than just a retrieve mission, they would need an adult in case anything that requires an adult is needed. The bodyguards weren't enough.

Mikan had stayed in her and Rei's room most of the time along with her cats. Sometimes, she would let her cats out and let them return whenever they want. She would also check on the progress (Aoi) every day. The fruit was beginning to ripe and within three hours, it was time to harvest.

She was going to head to the Hyuuga's house with Rei tonight to watch as everything unfolds. But her main purpose there is to make sure nothing goes wrong and to ensure that the fire caused by Aoi's Alice will not become overboard and that no one gets seriously injured.

"Mikan, are you ready?" Rei asked as he stepped into the room after talking with Narumi. Narumi's job was to follow Natsume, who is out of town getting some things, and ensure that Natsume won't be lost in the fire.

"Yes, I am," Mikan replied as she stood up from the chair she was sitting on. She had been working on organizing the DA class's missions. The DA class hasn't been going on missions while they were gone since there wasn't anyone to watch them and manage them. Mikan has done several missions herself and she was successful on all of them. But Mikan was mainly the DA class's mastermind and advisor, she sorts through the missions that come in and assign them to the DA students. She assigns them according to specific DA student(s)' personality and how they think, but she also provides them with the instructions and tips.

Because of this, the DA class rarely has failed missions. Most of the failed missions happened because the DA class didn't follow the instructions and guidance given, but the learned their lesson of not listening. They were also heavily punished.

"Let's go then," Rei said. After taking a glance at the papers on Mikan's desk, he added, "You done with sorting out those missions?"

"Yes." Mikan walked towards Rei in her black t-shirt and black short shorts. She was also wearing black flats with black gloves that reached her elbow. Her brown hair was tied into a ponytail. This was her usual mission clothes when it's warm. It was easy to move around in and it was comfortable. "Let's hope that the students have been training regularly and haven't been slacking and causing trouble just because we are gone. The first thing to do when we get back is to have an intense one week training camp."

"It's going to be a week of hell for them then," Rei said with a chuckle. "What should we do with Hyuuga Natsume?"

"Hyuuga-san will also join the training, but he will be trained separately for now. It would be too intense for him even if he is very agile and fit. Would you like to train him yourself or should I do it?"

"Yeah, that's a good plan. We can share that responsibility. While I am training with the DA class, you can train with him," Rei replied.

"But what form am I going to use? I can't be you since it could get out of hand if he or anyone in the DA class ever realizes there are two Personas."

"True. I guess I should just train him after I give instruction to the DA class and you can monitor the class while I go and train him personally. Then after the camp, we can train him while the DA class is on their missions."

"Yes, that's what I have been thinking too. Well then, let's go," Mikan said with a nod of confirmation and held out her hand.

"Alright." Rei took Mikan's hand.

They had teleported to the room that Aoi was in. Once they arrived, Mikan turned on the invisibility Alice for both Rei and her. She then handed Rei a ring and Rei took it with a nod, placing it on immediately. It was a ring that Mikan invented that enables the wearer to be invisible. Mikan places hers on as well and turns off her Alice invisibility.

Aoi was inside her futon with the Alice stone on as a bracelet. She was sweating profusely even when she was asleep.

Mikan built a sound barrier around the two of them before speaking. "How long do you think it will take for her Alice to start a fire?"

"Within an hour or so," Rei replied as he studied the feverish girl. The Alice stone on her bracelet is already the size of a pea.

"I agree. Hope it's sooner than later. It is getting late. Let's sit down," Mikan said and Rei did he was told. Once Rei was settled, she sat on his lap and his arms instantly went around her waist, his head on her left shoulder.

* * *

[**Notes**]―

"Yoru" = night

"Hanahime Den" = 'Hana' is flower and 'hime' is princess so 'Hanahime' means 'flower princess'.

"-otousan" is a suffix that is used as a casual way of saying 'father' or 'dad'. Usually people, would just call their father figure 'otousan' but Mikan likes to refer to everyone with their names, so she uses part of the ESP's name and use the '-otousan' suffix whenever she's talking to or referring to the ESP. "Kage-otousan"

"Kage" means shadow by the way. And "Kageri" means "shadow over one's happiness", yup that's the reason I chose that name.

Narumi hasn't reached the frills and flamboyant level of clothing yet maybe because he's only like a few years from his high school days, where he dressed regularly and is very very popular with girls. (That is true from the manga. I personally like Narumi quite a lot, coz he has a past that is pretty… yeah. I don't really dislike any characters from GA, maybe that Medusa guy. But yeah, I don't really do character bashing unless I really hate that character.)

"Hyūga" is the 'real' way the Natsume's family name would be written in romaji, but the accent mark over the 'u' (sorta) indicates an extra 'u'. So "Hyūga" would also be Hyuuga. Other examples Kyōko from Skip Beat has that same accent mark and thus, "Kyōko" would also be "Kyouko". Having an extra 'u' is so much easier to type and understand than having the accent mark over the vowel. That accent is to stress that vowel.

Natsume's dad is referred to as Hyuuga-san because I do not know of his first name since it has never been said and I am too lazy to think of one at the moment. And no, it's not Ioran, it was just a mistake and it has never been publically (anime or manga or author) announced. I might give him a first name later, just not now. Plus, he's not that important. *shrugs*

For those who don't know, "futon" is a thin mattress that is placed on the floor for sleeping. It's mostly in Japanese interiors and it is folded and stored during the day time, usually. But in this story, Aoi is just going to be too lazy to fold it and so she leaves it out.

Natsume and Ruka are 8 at the moment, Mikan is 7, Rei is 14 and Aoi is around 4.

* * *

How was it, everyone? I will update the next chapter sooner or later. The latest would be this weekend. I guess. This chapter is one of the shorter ones tho, I think.

Thanks for reading, everyone! :3 I hope you enjoyed it! Hope you will leave feedback.

~Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 12-16-10 Thursday  
**Edited:** 09-21-11


	4. Chapter 04: The New Additions

**A/N:** Chapter 5 will prob come out on Christmas. :3 I want to give it to you readers as a Christmas present. :) I also gotta write my next chapter on my other story anyways, so I should work on it over the next few days... I am gonna be busy from the 23rd to the 26th. 26th's my lovely friend's birthday~

Anyways. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and I love you guys a lot~ I wonder if the story's reader base will get any bigger, but even if it doesn't, I am still content with you guys. :D Since there weren't any annoynmous reviews, I had already replied to the reviews through PMs. :)

But yeah, last chapter was pretty slow... hope you guys didn't mind too much. I am still building up. :)

* * *

[**Notes**] -

"oniisan" = big brother ("_Ouch! What was that for, oniisan?_" -Aoi)

"baka" = dummy, idiot ("_We have arrived, baka imouto_." -Natsume)

"imouto" = little sister ("_We have arrived, baka imouto_." -Natsume)

"sugoi" = amazing, wonderful, wow ("_Sugoi! This place is so big and pretty!"_ -Aoi)

"yojinbo" = bodyguard. It would be weird (to me) if I used an English word with Japanese honorifics… (_"She will be escorted by yojinbo-san and I."_ -Persona)

"Oui" is the French for 'yes', please remember that Mikan knows a lot of languages, so she will be mixing in some foreign language into her speech.

"neko" is cat; Mikan is referring to both of her cats when she said "neko-kun"

"Ja ne" = Goodbye or Bye

**

* * *

Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice aka Alice Academy. Though I wish the next chapter would come out already. The latest chapter is just way way too good and we are approaching the final chapters/arc of the story. I wonder how Gakuen Alice is gonna end? Oh... I just gotta say this... spoiler for those who haven't read the latest chapter... I am thinking... either Mikan will make the ESP realize he is wrong and ESP might change for the better or the ESP will perish and the 'good' guys win. I dunno. Well, Luna and Persona are prob not gonna be by the ESP's side anymore. Persona and Nobara is a pretty good pair. :) But I still like Persona and Mikan more. lol. Anyways. too much blabbing now.

**Warnings**: Saying of 'h3ll' and possibly other bad language. I don't like swearing much. So there shouldn't be too much of that in this story. I hope. Even if there are, h3ll and sh1t should be the most common ones. I would often replace sh1t with shiz though. *shrugs*

* * *

"_this_" is said via telepathy

'_this'_ is someone's thoughts

"this" is normal speaking

* * *

**Chapter 04 – The New Additions**

* * *

**One hour later…**

The first of the Alice fire has finally started. It started around Aoi and Mikan got up immediately and placed a barrier around Aoi, Rei and herself to make sure they don't get hurt. Fire began erecting everywhere and it spread all over the place. Using a voice amplification gadget so that the entire town could hear her, Mikan screamed, "FIRE! FIRE!"

Instantly, Mikan could sense everyone in town waking up and gather their belongings before fleeing from their town. She placed a barrier around the fire so no one would get seriously injured.

Hyuuga-san slammed open Aoi's bedroom door and released a sigh of relief when he saw that his daughter was okay. He had gotten his possessions already since anything important was always stored in a easy-to-grab bag in case they had to escape quickly. He used his own Alice to clear the way, picked Aoi up, and ran out of the house.

Without Mikan's barrier, Aoi would surely have been engulfed by her own flames. The Alice stone had finally ran out and Aoi's Alice began balancing itself once again. The power of her Alice was barely comparable to what it once was. The power used this one time had over-exceeded the highest power level that she could have used with her Alice.

'_She will be okay. I guess I can't really train her anymore though. Oh well, I can at least teach her the basic technique of controlling it. Or I guess I could always use a fire Alice stone that I copied and insert it in her to restore it to a normal level… we will see,_' Mikan thought to herself as she gestured Rei to leave the room with her.

"What are you going to do with Hyuuga Aoi?" Rei questioned.

"I will tell you later. Let's clean up this mess first."

"Alright. Natsume should be running here soon."

"And he will see his father and sister relatively safe before they are kicked from the town. Narumi will already be approaching them by the time 'we' meet up with him."

"Yes," Rei said with a satisfied grin.

Then they fell into silence. As Mikan passed by the living room, she found something that interested her.

"Rei, go ahead of me. I am going to check this place out for interesting things," Mikan informed as she halted in her steps.

"Alright, I understand. Be quick about it and kill off the fire soon. Stay safe." Rei didn't like the idea of leaving her alone, but he knew she had her reasons and he trusts her. He would have to take care of his mission first.

"I will. I will meet you back at the house. The Hyuuga's and possibly the Nogi's are going to stay at the house for now, aren't they?" Mikan questioned. Their temporary house was on the border of town so the fire didn't affect it much.

"I believe so."

"Alright. Bye."

"Farewell." Rei then stepped out of the house and went towards the town's entrance in a speed run. Once Mikan made sure Rei won't be returning, she froze all of the fire within the house with ice and using her weather Alice, she made the sky start raining at a rate that would extinguish the fire eventually.

With a snap of her finger, all of the ice shattered into pieces as she remained protected in her barrier. She walked towards the photos in the living room. There was a photo of Hyuuga-san, Natsume, Aoi and a woman she knew as Kaoru Igarashi (later Hyuuga), who is Natsume's and Aoi's mother. She held the photo in her hand and using her x-ray Alice, she checked to see if there's anything hidden behind the picture. There was. She had felt that there was something special about this specific photo and her intuition was correct. She pulled the back of the picture frame out and took out the hidden picture. She looked at the picture. It was a picture of a long, brown-haired teen in her late teens with an infant girl in her arms. The teen was smiling and Mikan identified her as Azumi Yuka, the love of Narumi, from the photograph in Yuka's files.

'_Who is this girl? Could it possibly be the child of Azumi-san and Yukihira-san? But if that's so, then where is she right now? Could she possibly be with Azumi-san? Maybe. I should look them up when I get back,_' Mikan thought to herself and teleported both photos into the locket that she always wear. As a cat, it's a collar, but as a human, it's a normal-looking necklace. '_Let's see if I can find anything else._'

Mikan went up to Hyuuga-san's room and searched through it. She didn't find anything else of importance. '_All the important things were probably in that bag of possessions that he carried. There's probably nothing else now. I should go… but I should check out the Nogi household as well. They might have something left. Good thing I thought ahead and froze their fire as well._'

Mikan teleported to the Nogi household and with a snap of her fingers, the 'fire' shattered as well. She looked around the house and only found a few photos (that she took) of the family and such, but nothing noteworthy.

'_Time to head back. Rei should be back already._' With that, she teleported back to her and Rei's shared room.

She could overhear the conversation downstairs. With telepathy, she sent Rei a message. "_I am back, as you probably realized."_

"_Alright, I will be up there soon, I hope."_

"_Have fun."_

"_Uh-huh sure"_ She could see him mentally rolling his eyes, she giggled.

Mikan started on her paperwork again. She's holding off on her research of Azumi Yuka and her daughter since her technology back in the suite was much more secured and it was just easier. Rei was not going to know about her new project, mostly because of his involvement with his sensei and she needs to know more about this first.

An hour later, the meeting finally adjourned and Rei immediately returned to their room.

"Welcome back, Rei," Mikan greeted as Rei came to her for a hug.

"Hello to you too. Did you find anything in the house**s**?" He asked getting straight to the point.

"You know me too well. But not really, just a few pictures. I have a feeling that they took the important stuff with them."

"I thought so. Anyways, the children are coming back with us once the girl's condition has stabilized and the gakuen is going to be paying the damage that the town suffered as well."

"Aoi will be fine in a day or so. As for the compensation, the damage was controlled by me, so nothing too out-of-hand. It's mostly the outside the needs to be fixed. The inside is going to be 'miraculously' intact and safe. But for the Hyuuga's and Nogi's… now that's a different story."

"Good, I would like to return soon. I hope the DA class didn't cause too much trouble. But then again, it would be fun for us if they were troublesome," Rei said with a smirk.

"Very fun. But we still need them for missions, so they will just have to suffer more during training camp," Mikan said with reason and a tinge of regret. Yes, she was slightly sadistic. Well, she _is _raised by Rei and the ESP…

"That's a shame," Rei remarked with a slight frown.

"Indeed."

* * *

**Two days later…**

It was time for them to leave for Gakuen Alice now. Aoi's condition has stabled a day ago, but they requested for one more day together. Narumi thought that Persona would reject the request, but to Narumi's surprise, Persona allowed it. Of course, it was Mikan's doing (as always).

The same limo that Rei and Mikan took to get here arrived in front of the house. Aoi, Natsume, and Ruka were bidding goodbye to their parents. Ruka's parents were going to Lyon, France for a year or two while Mr. Hyuuga was going to become a wandering painter.

During this mission, Mikan's cats had been relatively obedient and stayed out of the sight of the house's residents. But during the ride to the gakuen, the cats were going to be riding with Rei and the rest. Ruka's face had lit up at that, he didn't even realize there were other animals inside the house. He had also brought his rabbit with him with Narumi's and Rei's permission.

Mikan was going to disguise as a female bodyguard that will sit in the back to make sure nothing goes wrong. She had long straightened black hair with blue eyes and she was dressed in casual clothing. She looked to be in her 20s. The cats could tell that the bodyguard was their master and sat with her every now and then, but they still weren't able to resist the animal-pheromone released from Ruka.

Throughout most of the car ride, Aoi chattered on and would often become the victim of Natsume's fist because of how noisy she was. Aoi finally fell asleep halfway through the ride, but Natsume and Ruka stayed awake with a few light conversations every now and then.

Narumi often made a comment to Aoi's chattering and they were basically the only ones speaking. When Aoi fell asleep, he began informing Natsume and Ruka the rules of the gakuen and other information. When he was done, he began watching the outside scenery idly.

Persona had stayed quiet almost the entire ride and only moved when he needed to flip a page in his book or had to get a new book. He only spoke at the beginning when the 'bodyguard' asked for a book and when the 'bodyguard' asked for a new book. Narumi was of course slightly surprised by this (both the fact that Persona was reading a book, being pretty nice to the bodyguard, and acting normal).

After eleven torturous hours with one brief stop for gas, they had finally arrived at Gakuen Alice.

"Welcome to Gakuen Alice," Narumi announced with a smile as they entered through the gates.

Natsume woke his sister up with a flick to the forehead.

"Ouch! What was that for, oniisan?" Aoi exclaimed with a pout as she was startled awake.

"We have arrived, baka imouto," Natsume replied calmly.

"Really?" Aoi immediately jumped up, hitting the roof of the limo. "Ouch!"

Narumi let out a chuckle and said, "Careful there" while Natsume said, "Baka."

Aoi stuck her tongue at her brother childishly. She then kneeled on the seat and looked out the tinted windows with amazement. "Sugoi! This place is so big and pretty!"

"Yes, the gakuen is very big." Then a flash of sadness flickered through Narumi's eyes that only Natsume, Mikan and Persona caught (even though most of them were reading), before it returned to normal. '_But unfortunately, you won't be able to experience this place._'

Mikan caught Narumi's thought and immediately read Natsume's thoughts. '_What was that? Are they hiding something from us? Even though it was only for a moment, I am sure it was there. Maybe I should try to threaten him with my Alice…_'

Before he could go any further, Natsume was interrupted by Mikan.

"Hyuuga-san, please refrain from using your Alice in here," Mikan spoke up, catching everyone's attention and causing Natsume's eyes to widen in shock, but her eyes never left her book. "But even if you tried, you won't be able to. There's a barrier surrounding you three that prohibits any use of Alice."

"You were suspicious of us?" Natsume demanded with a hint of anger.

"Do we have a reason not to be? You could have used your Alice to escape during this car ride," Mikan retorted calmly as she finally looked up from the book and stared into Natsume's eyes.

Natsume couldn't figure out a way to reply, he knew this bodyguard was right. He did think about escaping, but realized that with five experienced Alice users in the same car as him, he wouldn't stand a chance, especially when he didn't even know what their Alices are.

"No matter, we have arrived. Welcome to Gakuen Alice," Mikan said dismissively as the limo slowed to a stop.

Persona then spoke up, "Narumi, you will be in charge of escorting Hyuuga-san and Nogi-san to the office to get them registered and showing them to their dorm. Hyuuga-san will be a special star and Nogi-san's star ranking will have to be decided at a later time. They will also begin classes tomorrow, so please remind them to be at their door by 8am since classes will start at eight thirty. If they wish, you are also to show them around the campus in the place of partners. And if they rebel, please feel free to use your Alice on them, Narumi."

'_Wow, I think that's the longest I have heard him talk. And is he seriously only a teen?'_ Narumi thought as he listened. "Yes, I understand."

When Mikan heard Narumi's thoughts (she was monitoring everyone's thoughts at the moment), she let out a chuckle, which made everyone look at her like she was crazy, except Persona, who knew that she must have heard something funny.

'_Did… did she hear my thoughts?'_ Narumi thought with a stutter. Mikan winked at him and Narumi's suspicions were confirmed.

"What about my sister?" Natsume questioned with narrowed eyes.

"She will be escorted by yojinbo-san and I. You don't have to worry about her," Persona replied.

"Why can't she come with us?"

"She needs to be checked by the hospital first."

"Then I am going with her," Natsume declared firmly.

"No, you won't, Hyuuga-san."

'Why the hell not? What—"

"Drop it please, Hyuuga-san," Mikan interrupted with a cold stare. "Do as Persona-sama say."

"Persona-sama? He is not even older than that guy over there." He pointed at Narumi. "And he is barely older than me. So why the hell would I listen to him?"

"Age doesn't matter in this gakuen, Hyuuga-san," Mikan stated. "What matters is power, especially the power of one's Alice."

"Yojinbo-san, it's quite alright with me if he doesn't listen to you," Persona said with a voice that is smooth as velvet, but sharp as the thorns of a rose. He had a cruel smirk as he said his next words. "He can figure out the consequences the hard way."

Natsume's eyes were now filled with coldness and suspicion.

"Very well, Persona-sama," Mikan replied, playing the part of an obedient yet strong bodyguard very well. Then she turned to face Aoi with a kind smile. "Hyuuga-san, would you please come with us?"

Everyone, except Persona, was slightly shocked at the quick change of attitude from Mikan.

"P-please call me Aoi instead, yojinbo-san," Aoi said with a slight stutter.

"Very well, Aoi-chan." Mikan nodded before facing Narumi. "Narumi-sensei, please be careful and use you Alice as you see fit."

"I will. Arigato," Narumi said with a curt nod.

"You are not taking Aoi anywhere without me, whether you like it or not," Natsume said stubbornly.

"Now now, didn't I already say that it's not up for you to decide?" Mikan scolded lightly with a cold yet amused stare.

"Who said I didn't have power?" Natsume stared straight into Mikan's eyes.

"Yojinbo-san, maybe you can show him what you really meant?" Persona spoke up with an amused smirk.

"Hai, Persona-sama," Mikan replied while the others were looking at them with confusion.

"First of all, Hyuuga-san, please remember that I have the barrier Alice, which means I am also currently restricting your use of your own Alice. Second, I have the mind-reading Alice, meaning I can read all of your thoughts and moves." Mikan then paused as Natsume realized that if he did go against her, there was probably very little changes that he can beat her. "Third, as I have said before, age doesn't matter here, power does." Mikan's figure then shrunk into that of a twelve-year-old, one year younger than Persona, effectively shocking everyone inside the limo except for Persona. "Whoever said I had to be an adult?"

'_Where the heck did the ESP manage to find a multi-Alice user with such powers?'_ Narumi thought.

'_W-what? What the hell was that? Are you saying that I have been talking to another teenager this entire time?'_ Natsume thought with irritation and annoyance.

"Yojinbo-san, let's go," Persona instructed with a satisfied smirk as the door to the limo was opened by the driver.

"Understood, Persona-sama," Mikan said with a nod. Turning towards Aoi, she held out a hand for the girl to take. "Let's go, Aoi-chan."

"Alright!" Aoi took Mikan's hand. "Bye, oniisan." When Mikan got off the limo, the driver bowed as a show of respect. Mikan nodded in acknowledgement like it was normal.

Pulling Aoi with her, Mikan quickly caught up to Persona and they soon disappeared from view. The limo then started up again and drove off.

"Age changing Alice, huh," Narumi wondered out loud. "I wonder if that is really Yojinbo-san's real age?"

"What do you mean, Narumi-sensei?" Ruka inquired with curiosity, he had been observing this entire exchange and chose to stay silent.

"Yojinbo-san's real age could possibly be that of a three-year-old or even a 50-year-old. We'd never know for sure unless she tells us truthfully or we had someone that could nullify her Alice or prevent her from using her Alice, turning her back into her original self. With that Alice, you can never tell one's real age," Narumi explained.

"If she was an old lady and she used that Alice to change into a teen, would she have a teenager's health or her original one?" Natsume asked.

"I am not really sure since I haven't seen an Alice like that really at all. But I would assume something in between perhaps? But if you had asthma or a heart disease originally, that would probably pass onto your 'new' body. I don't know for sure, since I don't have that Alice myself." Narumi shrugged and then his eyes had a slightly sad look. "But I heard that for people who have that Alice, they often have the limitless shape, an Alice that can be used unlimitedly, but it takes the user's life span in exchange for each use, since changing your body structure like that does take a toll on your body."

'_Limitless shape, huh. Just like me.'_ Natsume thought with bitterness.

"Anyways, let's go to the office now!" Narumi said with a big smile as the limo came to a stop once again.

"Hold on, where are they bringing Aoi?" Natsume questioned with coldness.

"Unfortunately, I don't know," Narumi replied with a shrug. Natsume narrowed his eyes clearly not believing Narumi. Noticing this, Narumi quickly explained, "I seriously don't know. I was only even on this mission because I was an adult. What they have planned, I don't know. All I know is that they are taking her somewhere away from you…"

"And?" Natsume started glaring at the teacher. His sister was being taken away from him?

"…and…" Narumi said quietly, "…she won't be attending Gakuen Alice with you and you most likely won't see her again for a while."

"What the hell?" Natsume quickly yelled out and his glare intensified.

Narumi winced at the expected outburst from Natsume. He had actually been instructed by Persona to inform Hyuuga Natsume of what happened to his sister if Natsume were to ask about it after they left.

"NA-RU-MI!" Natsume angrily pronounced each syllable of Narumi's name.

Sighing, Narumi twisted the earring that he wore. The earring was actually an Alice control device. He normally wouldn't turn it while using his Alice, but he needed Natsume to calm down and stay unconscious for a while. It was okay if he started school a day or two late.

Using his Alice (the two boys were already slightly blushing), Narumi said sweetly, "Natsume-kun, please do calm down." Natsume felt his anger seeping away. Then Narumi leaned towards Natsume and planted a kiss on Natsume's cheek to seal the deal.

The effect was immediate. Natsume fell over and Narumi easily caught the boy. Narumi turned his earring to its original position and looked over at Ruka, who was definitely shocked.

"Wh-what did you do to Natsume?" Ruka asked, fearing the worse.

"Don't worry about it, I just used my Alice on him. He will wake up sometime tomorrow probably," Narumi said with a chuckle. "Now Ruka-kun, would you like to go to the office?"

"S-sure…" Ruka replied, relieved but a little scared of the teacher's Alice. "Please call me by my family name, sensei."

"Hai hai, Nogi-kun. Let's go then!"

* * *

**With Mikan… after they disappeared from sight…**

"Oneechan…" Aoi called out shyly.

"Yes, Aoi-chan?" Mikan replied with a glance at the girl.

"Where are we going?"

"You will see when we get there," Mikan stated mysteriously.

"Oh… okay."

After a moment of silence, Mikan suddenly spoke up, "Where are my cats, Persona?"

'_Those adorable cats were oneechan's? How come she doesn't call him with the '-sama' anymore?_'

"Probably waiting for you at the basement's door after wandering a little," Persona replied with a much softer tone than the one he used in the limo.

"You are probably right…"

* * *

**After a few more minutes…**

A minute ago, they had entered through a Japanese-styled shrine archway. Now they were walking along a Japanese-styled corridor.

When Aoi saw some people walking towards them, she paused in her steps and she hastily bowed in greeting, but the two people just walked on as if they didn't see her, not even a spare glance.

"Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you, we are invisible and there's a sound-proof barrier around us. We are air to them," Mikan informed.

Aoi hurried her steps to catch up. "We are invisible? How come?"

"You will see," Mikan replied with a giggle.

As they went by a partially opened Shoji screen door, Mikan used her telepathy to speak to the person inside the room with affection, "_I am back, Hii-sama."_

"_Welcome back, Mikan no kimi,_" the MSP replied back with a visible soft smile.

"Persona, you stocked up on supplies before we left?" Mikan questioned.

"Yes, I did," Persona replied as they reached the door that led to the basement of the Hanahime Den. Well, it's not exactly a basement anymore, it's more like an underground mansion.

As predicted by Persona, Mikan's cats were really sitting by the door. "Hey there!" Mikan greeted and the cats meowed in response. Persona opened the door for them to enter. "Arigato."

Aoi quickly followed the girl and entered. She felt anxious about what's awaiting her, but she didn't feel scared.

Once everyone got in, Persona closed the door behind them and the lights situated along the walls lit up.

"Where are we?" Aoi asked with surprise as she took in her surroundings. The hallway was decorated with simple tan-colored wallpaper and the floor was made of concrete. It looked well-taken care of.

"Underneath Gakuen Alice. A place that only a few knows it even exists," Mikan replied with a smile as she led the way to the 'prison' part of the basement. Her own suite was hidden deep within the labyrinth of hallways and it was concealed by illusions, so that only way to get there was through teleportation or if you knew the underground like the back of your hand. There was no map or blue print of this place.

As Mikan continued walking down the hallways, Persona suddenly suggested, "You should drop the disguise already. It's a waste of energy."

"True," Mikan said as her appearance and size changed once again, shocking Aoi. Her black, straight hair changed color, becoming brown, slightly wavy hair that reached to her mid-back. Her height decreased and her features became more child-like. When she turned around to see Aoi's expression, she let out a giggle. Her previously ice blue eyes had become a hazel brown. "Surprised?"

Aoi nodded her head vigorously.

"That was just my disguise, being the bodyguard was also just a farce. My name is Reiji Mikan and I am actually the owner of this underground 'mansion', also known as the Hanahime Den's basement," Mikan introduced with a warm smile and slight bow. She, Rei and Kage-otousan had finally decided on a last name to make things easier.

"How old are you?"

"I am seven… or something like that," Mikan said the last part with a shrug.

Aoi was shocked by Mikan's age, she was younger than her brother, but she was also confused, "What do you mean 'or something like that'?"

"I became an orphan when I was one, so I myself don't remember or know my real family name or birthday. All I knew was my first name."

Aoi's eyes filled with sympathy and sadness. There were also traces of pity. "I am sorry."

"Don't pity me. And it's not your fault, so why should you apologize?" Mikan then stopped in front of a normal-looking wooden door. "We are here."

"Eh?" Aoi looked at her surroundings and found them very normal. "Huh? Why are we here?"

Mikan placed her hand on the door knob of the door. "This part of the basement is American-styled, so for the doors, you will be twisting and pushing." Mikan proceeded to twisting the door knob and pushing the door opened. "The door knobs also have a fingerprint identification installed so that only certain people can enter. Not only that, but once you place your hand around the knob, the door will identify you face and eyes. Because of that, remember to look up and face the door when you open the door, but that's only for the front door, which you won't be using much."

Aoi's eyes widened, _'This place_ _is so tight on security and the technology is so high-tech!'_

"Lights," Mikan called out and instantly, the room's lights lit on. "Welcome to your new home for a long time."

"I-I am going to be living here?" Aoi asked with amazement.

"Oui, you are," Mikan said with a nod of head. "Also, this room is incorporated with Alice technology. This room's function can be activated by voice or manually. This room has a sound recognition system and it only listens to the commands of the people it recognizes."

"Wow… wh-who made this place?" Aoi asked as she looked around the room. This room was composed of modern furnishing and its main colors were light pink, white, light blue and a light yellow color. This was actually more like an apartment than a room or 'prison'.

"Me. Most of the technology in this entire basement were redone by me recently and I often remodel the place. By the way, there's a robot maid at your service to help with the chores, cooking and whatever else you need. If you want to contact me, you can do it through the robot. Robot-san!"

"Hai, Mikan-sama? How can I be of help?" a robot asked as it came into the room.

This is your new master, Hyuuga Aoi, and you will be serving her. Aoi-chan, this is your robot maid, feel free to name her whatever you wish, I am leaving it up to you. Just inform me so that I can insert the name in it. At the moment, it's called Robot-san. Robot-san can also control this room."

"Arigato, Mikan-oneechan!" Aoi then ran over to Mikan to give her a hug.

"No problem. I should get going now since it seems like you would like to explore the place. But don't try to leave this room because it will immediately alert me and you won't succeed."

Aoi nodded her head in confirmation. "I understand."

"Well, let's go, Rei and neko-kun!" Mikan held out her hand for Rei to take. Rei took it and the cats who were already by her side, placed their paws around Mikan's legs. Mikan suddenly turned to face Aoi, "Oh one more thing. Don't attempt to use your Alice, this entire basement and the Hanahime Den is surrounded by a barrier. No one but me can use their Alice unless you have my help. Alright?"

"Hai, understood," Aoi replied formally.

"Well then, ja ne! See you tomorrow!" Then all of them disappeared into the air.

"Wow… Okay then… Let's explore this place! Robot-san, would you mind showing me around?"

"Of course not, Hyuuga-sama," the robot replied.

"Please, just call me Aoi."

"Hai, Aoi-sama."

"Let's go then!"

* * *

**[Notes]—**

"-sama" is a honorifics used to refer to people much higher in rank than oneself. It's a way more respectful version of '-san'. (Courtesy of wiki) ("_Do as Persona-sama say_." –Mikan)

"-san" is like the Japanese version for 'Miss', 'Mrs.', 'Ms.' or 'Mr.' ("_Yojinbo-san…"_ –Persona)

"-sensei" is an honorific used to refer to teachers, doctors, politicians and possibly other authority figures. It also applies to novelists, poets, painters, and other artists, including those awesome manga artists. It's also used in Japanese martial arts. But in the world of fanfic, it is usually used with a teacher. For ex: Jinno-sensei and Serina-sensei. [Explanation was mostly taken from Wikipedia] _("Narumi-sensei, please be careful and use you Alice as you see fit."_ –Mikan)

"-chan" is an honorific generally used for babies, young children, and teenage girls. "It expresses that the speaker finds a person endearing" (wiki). (_"Aoi-chan…" _–Mikan)

Shoji screened door is those Japanese styled doors.

Reiji Miyuki is Mikan's alias and it comes from: 'Mi' – 'Mikan'; 'yuki' – 'snow'; 'Rei' – 'Rei'; and 'ji' – 'Kuonji'. Mikan was the one who created that. She will eventually explain where her name comes from in the story as well.

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter. The next chapter will most likely come out on Christmas and then after that, it might take a while since five chapters are all I had written and it often takes me one week to write a chapter and a day or two for proofreading and typing. I usually write during school and classes. :P I also gotta work on my other story as well. hehe.

Mikan is going to get two new friends in the next chapter, guess who they are~!

Until next time~ I would love to hear feedback~

~Zenophobiaz

Published: 12/17/10 (Today's my mom's birthday... so I guess this would be dedicated to her even if she doesn't read fanfics. ^^)


	5. Chapter 05: The New Friends

**A/N:** Merry Christmas, everyone! :) This is my Christmas present to you readers who celebrate Christmas~ I hope that you will enjoy this chapter, I guess it's a pretty slow chapter, sorta. But... Mikan is gonna meet two new friends! :) Then after this... she's gonna meet another one, but that's about it.

Thank you to you readers who has placed my story on your favorite and/or story/alert list and/or reviewed. Thank you very much.

* * *

**Reviews:**

Unfortunately... no one was able to guess the two friends... (until I gave some hints)... Although they were pretty good guesses~ Anyways... these are only replies to my anonymous readers~

**FAN GIRL**: Thank you~! The age of Natsume in the last two chapters is 8~ and so is Ruka. Sorry for it being confusing. I am glad you like my writing style. ^^ Thanks for reading my story and reviewing! :3

**ur 1 fan Vaney****:** Hehe~ Thank you so much! :D Here is the newest chapter~ Thanks for reading and reviewing!

I wonder where my other anonymous readers went... ^^

* * *

[**Notes**]-

"Ohayo" is a shortened way of "good morning", the full saying would me "Ohayo gozaimasu"

"Iie" = no

[**More notes at the end of story**]

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice.

* * *

"_this_" is said via telepathy

'_this'_ is someone's thoughts

"this" is normal speaking

* * *

**Chapter 05 – The New Friends**

* * *

**Sunday morning… three months alter… in the 'basement'…**

"Ohayo, Aoi-chan," a voice greeted as a brunette girl appeared with a smile.

"Oh. Ohayo, Mikan-oneechan. Why are you dressed in a kimono?" Aoi questioned with a tilt of her head. She was also confused on why Mikan was here so early. Usually, Mikan wouldn't be here until the afternoon.

Mikan was dressed in a susohiki kimono of light colors and her hair was pulled into an updo hair arrangement held by several elegant and expensive looking kanzashi hairpins. She was also wearing a pair of geta. Everything was made from the finest material and she was radiating with elegance and pride. She had the beauty of the Greek goddesses and the gracefulness of a Japanese princess.

"Ah, I guess you have never seen me dressed like this. I am dressed like this every Sunday morning. I have lessons with Hii-sama later today," Mikan explained after giving herself a glance.

"You are so busy. You have lessons every single day!" Aoi exclaimed.

Mikan shrugged. "I do. But it keeps me busy. Anyways, I am here now because I can't visit you later. I have to go collect someone whose Alice is particularly troubling. So I wanted to see if you are doing okay."

"Yeah, I am doing fine. I will be watching some dramas or anime later."

"Alright, but remember to do your homework as well. What are you reading?" Mikan gestured to the book Aoi was holding.

"A Christmas Carol, _Japanese_ version. I am not like oneechan who's already so fluent in all these other languages."

"Don't mind it. If you want though, I can start teaching you a language of your choice that I am fluent in," Mikan suggested as she walked over to the couch. She was already fluent in French, Spanish, German and Italian. At the moment, she was learning Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese).

"No, it's okay. Just Japanese and English is enough for me. But maybe, you can teach me some French, their clothes and pastries are so pretty. I would love to visit France one day."

"Alright."

"Arigato." Aoi was grateful, Mikan was like the older sister that she never had and Mikan took care of her really well. Aoi wasn't really treated as the hostage that she really was (except for the locked up part). What type of hostage have their own personal maid, gets a five star hotel-suite to live in, gets home-schooled, have a closet of awesome clothes and have a bunch of advanced technology at her disposal?

"It's the least I can do," Mikan muttered softly to herself so that she won't be heard. She did feel slightly guilty about separating the Hyuuga siblings, but it was vital to keep Hyuuga from rebelling and trying to leave. After all, it's possible that Hyuuga will turn to the AAO if tempted and given the chance. They couldn't let that happen, but if they had his sister, he won't leave her behind.

"What?" Aoi asked.

"Nothing. Oh yeah, before I forget, I am going to be gone for a day or two for my mission, but if there's an emergency or anything, you can contact me through Naruka-san," Mikan informed. Naruka was the name of Aoi's robot maid. It was a combination of Natsume's and Ruka's name.

"Alright, stay safe!" Aoi nodded in understanding.

Mikan nodded and began dematerializing. "Ja ne."

"Byebye!"

* * *

**Later in the day… in the car with Rei and Mikan on the way to their mission…**

"Rei, is everything set?" Mikan asked while lying on the couch with her head in Rei's lap, they were watching a movie to ease their boredom. Mikan was now dressed in a pink tank-top dress with a white sweater on top and a pair of jeans instead of the kimono. She also had on a pair of knee-length black boots and had her hair down.

Rei had on a black long sleeved turtleneck on the inside, then he had a white collared dress shirt on top of the turtleneck and he has a black long-sleeved sweater-like shirt on the outside. He also had on a pair of black dress pants made from wool and his hair was tied into a low ponytail with some fringes of hair outlining his face. He had his disguise off, but he had on many Alice-control devices including that earring. "Yes it is."

They were both dressed casually so that they wouldn't appear out of place and suspicious. It was just an undercover retrieve mission and they didn't really need to do anything except to retrieve the boy from his family. Mikan was there because the boy has an Alice that he can't fully control yet and it would be bad if his Alice got out of hand.

"Hijiri Youichi, six months of age, has the Alice of summoning bad spirits. His parents realized he had an Alice a week after he was born. His father is an Alice-user himself, but his mother is a normal human. They tried to keep him for a while, but they are becoming more and more scared of his Alice and so, they contacted the gakuen," Mikan softly said while watching the movie.

"What should we do after we retrieve him?" Rei questioned as he played with Mikan's hair like he always does, it has become a habit of his.

"He is so young, so maybe I will have him stay with me until he's much older. I will be in charge of him," Mikan decided firmly. "He still has a long time before he can attend classes."

"Yes, you are right, but has Kuonji-sama approved of your decision?" Rei asked with slight worry. He was aware of how protective the ESP was concerning the brunette and the ESP doesn't like her interacting with anyone other than himself and Rei. Others would say that the ESP was very possessive and they are partly right, but Rei knew that there was more than that, the ESP was worried about Mikan getting hurt, whether it's by being betrayed or hurt by others' words and actions.

Mikan shrugged with a small smile. "Who knows? But I will make sure he agrees. I mean, this is also the most logical way. Youichi-kun is going to be in the Dangerous Ability class, so he is going to need training and I can start teaching him as well. Plus, he's too young to be involved already. I should show him the love and care that he deserves… that's the least I can do."

Rei let out a slightly exasperated sigh, this girl was too nice and sensitive for her own good, especially in this situation. "Mikan… you shouldn't be feeling guilty. It's not your fault or anything."

"I know, but I feel responsible for them," Mikan replied, referring to Natsume, Ruka, Aoi and now, Youichi. Ever since Mikan picked Natsume and Ruka up from their town, she has been keeping an eye on them and personally training Natsume along with Rei.

"You are too good for your own good," Rei remarked with a light shake of his head.

"No, I am not. I have dirtied my hands many times already and I don't feel anything about that. No remorse, no guilt. Someone who is good wouldn't be like that." Mikan's eyes were partially clouded.

'_But we are even worse for being the ones that cause you to dirty your hands. You, who has been nothing but an angel to us,_' Rei thought with guilt gnawing his rare conscience. "You are good. You are the whitest out of us."

"Iie… that's not true. Not true at all."

"Mikan. Stop trying to take on everything by yourself," Rei said seriously.

Mikan suddenly sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She buried her head into the crook of Rei's neck.

"What's wrong, Mikan?" Rei asked with worry as he brought his arms around Mikan's petite figure. The movie was long forgotten.

"I am scared, Rei. I am scared," Mikan confessed and Rei was alarmed. "I am scared that one day, when I am of no more use to you and Kage-otousan… you two will leave me."

Rei stiffened and was shocked. '_Why would she even think of that? I don't know about Kuonji-sama, but I would never do that.'_ "I would never do that. You are the most important person in my life and meeting you was the best thing that has happened in my life." _'Even better than meeting sensei.'_

'_How cheesy,_' Mikan thought to herself with a silent chuckle, but she was glad that at least one of them won't leave her. "Really, Rei? You are not lying to me, right?"

"Never. I am speaking the truth."

"Thank you, Rei." Mikan's hold on Rei slightly tightened and she had on a smile.

"Don't ever think I will leave you, alright? I promise I will never leave you."

"You are going all mushy and cheesy now, Rei. But yeah, I won't think of that again."

Rei's cheek uncharacteristically reddened a little. "I will be however I want to be around you. You will be the only one who will see this side of me."

"Swear?"

"Swear," Rei promised, making Mikan feel reassured once again.

Mikan hated how insecure she felt, she is so weak, but Kage-otousan and Rei are too important in her life. They were the ones who raised her and she loves them. If it weren't for them, she would probably still be out on the streets being pitied. But she knew why she was here, she was the secret weapon that the ESP was training to achieve his goals. She was only a weapon…

"Mikan! Mikan!" Rei called out, snapping Mikan out of her thoughts.

"Huh? Rei? Yeah? What is it?" Mikan shook her head slightly to shake off her haunting thoughts, there was no point dwelling on it.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I am fine. What is it?" Mikan pulled away and settled back to her original position with her head lying in his lap.

"We are in the town already," Rei informed, gesturing to the outside.

"Oh really… I assume we are heading to the Hijiri residence straight away?"

"Yes, we are. We will pick the boy up and stay for the night and morning before leaving."

"That sounds right. Let's pick up some baby stuff before we return to the gakuen, alright?"

"Sure."

"Serio-sama, Reiji-sama, we have arrived," the driver announced through the speaker. Then the door opened by the bodyguard.

Mikan got up from her position and headed towards the door with a smile. The driver/bodyguard wasn't surprised by the slightly intimate position that his two masters were in, he was used to it. Mikan waited for Rei besides the door. Once Rei got out, they headed towards the Hijiri residence's gate holding hands.

Mikan rung the doorbell and a moment later, the speaker came on. "This is the Hijiri residence. Who is it?"

"We are from Gakuen Alice. We are here to pick up Hijiri Youichi," Rei replied.

"Oh!" Then almost instantly, the front door opened and the woman who opened the door seemed surprise at what she saw. A black-haired teen holding the hands of a brunette girl. The woman expected people older. But nevertheless, she approached the gates and opened it. "Thank you for coming all the way here."

"It's of no problem, Hijiri-san. I am Reiji Miyuki and this is Serio," Mikan introduced with a greeting bow while Rei just nodded as a greeting. "It's nice to meet you."

"I am Hijiri Haruka. It's nice to meet you as well," Haruka greeted with a small smile. Then she stepped aside to gesture for them to enter. "Please come in."

When they entered the house, they found themselves in a light colored living room and it was styled simply.

"Please make yourself comfortable. I will go make some tea." Haruka then headed to where they assumed as the kitchen.

"I guess Youichi-kun is sleeping…" Mikan trailed off as she tracked the boy's presence and breathing.

"Yeah."

* * *

**A little while later…**

"Don't worry, I will take good care of him," Mikan said with a smile. In her arms, there was a sleeping baby boy with the beginnings of gray-colored hair with splashes of light brown.

"I am sure you will. I will never be able to do my best with him," Haruka said with a sad smile.

"Is there anything that you would like to keep with Youichi-kun?"

"Just a picture and a locket with the family picture. I would like for him to not forget about us."

"I understand." Mikan gestured for Rei to hold out his hand for Youichi's possession.

Haruka placed the photo and locket onto Rei's outstretched hands as she whispered with gratefulness, "Arigato."

Mikan nodded. "Farewell."

* * *

**Later that night…**

After they left the Hijiri residence, they went to buy some baby necessities sufficient for a few days. Youchi woke up an hour after they got to their temporary home. But surprisingly, he didn't cry.

Youichi just opened his eyes, revealing light blue eyes, and looked around, taking in his unfamiliar surroundings and tried to find a specific someone. When he didn't find who he was looking for, he let out a noise of confusion.

Mikan, who had been working on some paperwork, was aware of the baby's awakening ever since he woke up. She got up from her seat and walked towards Youichi's temporary crib.

"Rei, You-chan is awake," Mikan called out softly as she picked the baby up carefully, but she knew Rei heard her.

"How is he doing?" Rei questioned as he appeared next to Mikan in seconds.

"I would say quite well, considering that he suddenly woke up in an unfamiliar place with strangers. Youichi was looking at the two of them with curious eyes and his hand reached towards Mikan's cheek.

"What is he thinking of right now?" Rei asked as he watched the baby with speculation.

"He is wondering who we are and where he is," Mikan replied as she slightly shifted the baby in her arms to a more comfortable position for both him and her. Considering this was the first time she had handled a baby, she was actually doing quite well.

"Ah. You gonna reply to him?"

"Sure, your real name or Persona?"

"Since he's gonna live with you for a while, my real name."

"_Hello, You-chan,_" Mikan began via telepathy, startling Youichi with the sudden gentle voice that appeared in his head. He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "_I am Reiji Mikan and I am the one holding you._" Youichi faced Mikan with surprise. _"The boy next to me is Serio Rei. You are currently in a temporary house and tomorrow, we are going to be heading to a school named Gakuen Alice. I am also going to be your caretaker for a year or so."_

Surprisingly to most people, but not them, Youichi seemed to be able to comprehend most of her words. Mikan and Rei knows why, Youichi has been silently conversing with his ghost friends quite a bit. '_Where's my okaasan?'_ Youichi thought in his mind.

"_Your okaasan and otousan are at home. You are not going to see them again for quite a while, but don't worry, as long as you remember them, they will remember you,"_ Mikan told him kindly with a warm smile.

'_R-really?'_ Youichi had the beginning of tears on the brim of his eyes.

"_Hai,_" Mikan replied with a nod and carefully, she balanced him on one arm and using the other hand, she wiped away the tears. When she was done, she turned to Rei, who was watching them intently with a soft smile. "Yes, Rei? Do I have something on me?" Mikan asked, clueless. She was too tired from the car trip to read his mind.

"No, I just thought that you would make a great mother," Rei replied truthfully, his words causing a tint of red to appear on her cheeks.

"Wh-where did that come from, Rei? I am only seven, for crying out loud!" Mikan sputtered out, her cheeks growing warmer every second.

Realizing how that must have sounded, a tint of red appeared on his cheeks as well. "G-gomen… I didn't mean it like that!"

"Rei…"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure you are not a pedophile?" Mikan asked with a devilish glint in her eyes.

"W-what?" Rei cried out uncharacteristically. Mikan was the only one who can send him into a shock state like that and get him to act so uncharacteristically.

"You are acting like a pedophile and a pervert," Mikan said bluntly while shaking her head disapprovingly. "Such unclean thoughts. A seven-year-old as a mother? Really?"

Rei realized how right Mikan sounded. '_Ugh… how am I going to fix this. I seriously did sound like a pedophile and pervert saying those words to an seven-year-old._' Rei mentally slapped his forehead for his blunt words.

Mikan giggled at his frustrated expression, she loves doing that to him. Then a poke at her cheek alerted her and her attention instantly went to the baby.

"_Yes?"_ She asked.

'_What's a pedophile?'_ Youichi asked with an adorable confused expression.

"_You will know that later in life,"_ Mikan replied with another giggle. Rei frowned in frustration, not knowing what's going on between them.

"Don't worry about it, Rei," Mikan said with a sly smile.

Rei narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Whatever." He hated it when she had silent conversations and he wasn't a part of it. Yes, he was pretty possessive, but when it comes to Mikan, anything is possible for him.

"Hey, Rei. Can you take care of dinner?" Mikan requested with a sweet smile. "I gotta take care of Youichi and feed him, unless you want to take care of him yourself?"

Youichi instantly glared at Rei and vengeful spirits began appearing around his figure and were heading towards Rei, but Rei wasn't even fazed. Suddenly, all of the spirits disappeared.

"Now now, You-chan. Behave," Mikan scolded gently and You-chan faced Mikan with a sheepish smile. "Rei would rather take care of cooking anyways, isn't that right?"

Rei nodded once in agreement and glanced at Youichi with annoyance. '_What a troublesome child. Well, at least he's only going to be here for a short time while I have many more years,'_ Rei thought with a smirk at the end.

"Arigato."

Rei nodded again and left for the kitchen.

* * *

**A few weeks later…**

"Mikan, I am back," Rei called out as he entered the suite in the disguise of Persona.

"Oh, hello there!" Mikan greeted as she stepped into the living room of the suite. She was dressed in her casual at home clothes, a blue tank top and orange colored short shorts. She makes her clothes with one of her inventions. She designs the clothes herself and chooses the material for it, then she inserts them into her invention and it will be easily made. She could always use her sewing Alice, but it's more time consuming and energy wasting on her part.

Her Alice… using copied or stolen Alices was of course more energy-consuming than using her original Alice, but from her training, she developed it so that it wasn't as energy-consuming and her Alice stamina was much higher than it once was. They also haven't been able to accurately pinpoint what shape of Alice her Alice is, they were able to eliminate diffuse (always available but at low-level) and intermittent (available for short periods of time, but at a high power level). They weren't sure whether it's childhood (slowly disappears as the child grows into adult) since she is still a child or if it's limitless since her Alice is always available at any power level, but it hasn't really been impacting Mikan's health as far as they can tell. The ESP and Rei hoped that it wasn't limitless since they didn't want to lose her, but if it was, the ESP is having his Alice scientists find a way to help the limitless shape of Alice so that Mikan wouldn't die. They weren't sure whether Mikan having the childhood shape is any better.

But speaking of the limitless shape of Alice…

"Why did you call me here?" Rei asked as his eyes and senses searched the suite for a certain silver-haired boy.

"You-chan is in his room sleeping already. Azuko-chan is taking care of him in case he wakes up," Mikan informed without mind-reading since she knows him too well. Azuko-chan is her own robot maid. "Anyways, I want you to help me deliver a message to Kage-otousan."

"And why can't you do it yourself?" Rei didn't mind being a messenger since it happens often, but he was curious.

"Because he's having a once in a blue moon Gakuen Alice principals meeting tonight and although I am recording the meeting to watch later. I am not watching it now, so I don't know when their meeting ends. Tell him to come see me as soon as he's available, meaning before the day ends. It's not really a emergency, but I gotta talk to him immediately," Mikan explained with a shrug.

"Alright, I will be back." Rei then left the suite and went out the long way.

* * *

**Later that night…**

"Mikan, you wanted to see me?" the ESP asked as he entered the suite. He had stopped calling Mikan 'Mi-chan' when she turned six, deeming it more fitting to call her Mikan.

"Hai, I would like to ask you for permission on something urgent." Mikan closed the book that she was reading with Rei. Yes, they still did read together. She got up from Rei's lap and handed the closed book to Rei.

"What is it?"

"I would like to introduce myself to a ten-year-old boy named Sonou Kaname who is the holder of the Alice that allows him to make stuffed dolls that possess life. He has the limitless shape of Alice and is currently residing in the Alice hospital," Mikan informed as she watched for their reaction closely.

Rei was alerted and surprised while the ESP was contemplating about this new boy. Of course, the both of them were aware of the existence of this boy since he is the holder of the Alice that Mikan has always wanted. They were also aware of his failing health.

"Why?" Such a simple question from the ESP.

"I would like to make a deal with him and get to know him better."

"What deal?"

"In exchange for willingly allow me to copy his Alice, I will help him with his health, allowing him to attend school on a regular basis."

The ESP and Rei narrowed their eyes at her answer. They were obviously not happy with the attention that Mikan is giving the boy, but they knew how much Mikan wanted to get that Alice and the need for Mikan's xenophobia to get better. Plus, Christmas was coming, so maybe this can be her early Christmas present.

"…Fine," the ESP agreed reluctantly. He knew that either way, he would agree sooner or later. Whenever Mikan is set on something, she's very persuasive and stubborn on getting what she desires.

"Arigato gozaimasu, Kage-otousan!" Mikan said with a big smile and ran forward to give him a hug.

The ESP softened under Mikan's hug, but he sent a 'you better keep a watch her or else…' look to Rei.

* * *

**The next day… at the Alice hospital…**

Mikan materialized besides a bed with a sleeping blond. When she saw all the tubes and the heart monitor that were connected to the boy, she frowned, but then she glanced towards the window with a hint of alertness.

When she recognized the presence, she shook her head with a small smile. "_Really Rei? You are a watch dog now?"_

She can feel the narrowing of eyes from Rei's mind and he was obviously annoyed and not happy with the insult.

"_Gomen gomen, Rei. But you know I can take care of myself perfectly well."_

'_Yeah, but I do what I am ordered to do and you can never be too safe,'_ Rei said with a shrug.

"_Whatever,_" she replied and turned to face the sleeping boy. '_He should be awake soon…'_

Mikan sat down on the chair that was beside the bed. Normally, a patient like the blond would be placed in a shared bedroom, but because it's an Alice hospital within the school and Mikan's input in that matter, he had gotten a private room. She could easily manipulate the happenings within the gakuen, with or without her Alices' help.

She touched her locket with her right hand and held out her left hand. Out of nowhere, a laptop appeared in her outstretched hand. She had stored her custom-made laptop inside her necklace in case she had to wait. She turned on her laptop and after typing in a long and complicated code as the password, she began working on her paperwork.

After an hour or so, the boy began to stir from his sleep and blinked a few times to clear his sight.

"Konnichiwa, Sonou Kaname-kun," Mikan greeted as she looked up and stopped her typing. Said boy's eyes widened in alarm and he sat up suddenly, looking around for his visitor. When he found the source, his eyes widened even more.

"Be careful there," Mikan warned with a gentle smile. Just as she said that, the after effects of sitting up so suddenly kicked in.

When the dizziness and light-headedness finally went away, he looked up at the girl. Her laptop had disappeared as if it had never been there. "Konnichiwa, who are you?" he asked with curiosity. This stranger knew his name, but he has never met her.

"Excuse me for my rudeness, I am Reiji Miyuki, I am seven years old and it's nice to meet you."

"Ah, how do you know me?" Kaname questioned with a side tilt of his head.

"Your Alice. It's the ability to put life inside the stuffed dolls that you make, is it not?"

"H-how did you know?"

"I know everything."

"W-what do you mean?"

"Your best friend is Andou Tsubasa, who's the owner of the shadow manipulation Alice, and you are also friends with Harada Misaki, who has the Alice of doppelganger. Your Alice shape is the Limitless one and you are the creator of Bear, who lives in the Northern Forest. He is very cute by the way."

Kaname was surprised by how much this girl knew about him. Just who is she? "Who are you? How do you know so much about me?"

"I have my sources, but I am here to make a deal with you."

"A deal? What Alice do you have, Reiji-san?" Kaname asked with interest.

"I have the Alice of steal and copy, so I can copy and steal other's Alices," Mikan replied, purposely leaving out the rest of her original Alices. Kaname was surprised by the amount of power that this innocent and gentle looking girl contained. "But anyways, my deal is, in exchange for letting me copy your Alice and being my friend, I will heal you on a regular basis and prevent your failing health from getting worse and your eventual death. By agreeing to this deal, you will be able to make more memories and friends in the gakuen and you will be able to attend school regularly."

Kaname was surprised once again by this girl's words. '_This girl's deal is much more advantageous for me than for her.' _"Why would you want to copy my Alice?"

"Because… because I have always wanted to have a copy of your Alice ever since I heard of Alices! I really love stuffed dolls~ They are so so adorable and kawaii~" Mikan said with a big joyful smile, dropping her façade. Yes, she has been wearing a façade this whole time. It was so that her xenophobia won't interfere. Having a façade on is the only way that she can deal with her case of xenophobia.

"Eh?" Kaname was dumfounded by the sudden change of attitude in Mikan.

"Oh…" Realizing what she just did, a blush appeared on her cheek. Out of nowhere, a brown-haired teddy bear that's two-third the size of Mikan suddenly appeared in Mikan's arms. "Gomen…" Mikan said as she hid behind the teddy bear.

"…" Kaname then began laughing and Mikan, who was confused, peeked from behind the bear.

"…Why are you laughing?" Mikan asked with a pout.

Kaname's laugh ceased until a few chuckles were left. Happy tears had appeared at the brim of his eyes and he wiped them off as he replied, "Gomen gomen. You are just too kawaii, so you are really shy, huh."

A tint of red reappeared on Mikan's cheek at the compliment. "W-well, it's not that I am shy… it's more like I have a case of xenophobia," Mikan muttered, looking at anywhere but Kaname. Her clutch around the bear also tightened.

"Xenophobia?" Kaname questioned.

"Fear of strangers. That's what xenophobia is," Mikan explained. "I have had xenophobia ever since I was one or two."

"Then how come you seemed so not… shy just now?"

"Because I was wearing a façade. It's the only way that I can deal with it."

"Ah. Well, it's okay."

"Thanks. So… would you be willing to accept my offer?" Mikan asked hope-filled eyes. "If you are not in the hospital so much, you would be able to stay with Bear a lot more as well, you know…"

"Just how much do you know?"

"Everything," Mikan replied with a shrug.

"…This deal is too good to pass up. And… do you really want to be friends?"

"Of course! I would love for a friend like you."

"You know, how come you didn't just copy my Alice without me knowing. I am sure you can do that."

"Yes, I can, but I didn't want to. I wanted to know the holder of one of my most favorite Alices."

"Oh. So… this all just happened because of my Alice?" There was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"Nah. Of course not! I wanted to know you as a human being. The Alice is just the icing on a cake. I don't have much friends you know. I would like to overcome my xenophobia as well."

Kaname was thinking that the reason she doesn't have much friends was because of her Alice. Even though he already knew her Alice, he didn't really feel afraid of her for some reason, maybe it's because of the gentle and friendly aura that she emanated. "Are you in the Dangerous Ability class, Reiji-chan?"

"I should be, but no, I am not." Mikan wasn't surprised that he came to such a logical conclusion and since Kaname was just recently hospitalized regularly, it's no surprise that he knows about the recently created DA class.

"What do you mean?"

"I am a home-schooled student and I am kept hidden by the school. Only my teacher, Kuonji-kouchou and a few others know that I am in the gakuen.

"Do you live in the dorms?"

"Iie, I live in my own place."

"Aren't you lonely, Reiji-chan? I always feel so lonely in this hospital room.

"Please call me Miyuki, senpai. But no, I don't feel lonely. I often have company and I have pets.

"Call me Kaname then."

Mikan nodded. "Kaname-senpai, can you please keep quiet about me being here?"

"Of course, I understand."

Mikan was glad that he complied so willingly. Because if he didn't, she would have needed to edit his memories a little.

Mikan got up and approached Kaname, her teddy bear disappeared into the air.

"How do you do that?" Kaname asked with amazement.

"Teleportation Alice."

"Oh."

"I am going to heal you first and then copy your Alice, alright? Can you please hold out your hand?"

Kaname nodded and did as he was told.

Mikan took his hand and inside, she found the two Alices she was looking for, the healing Alice and the longevity Alice that she secretly copied from the HSP. She copied the two and molded the two copied Alice power into a mixed Alice stone (one of the things that she learned how to do). Then she inserted the power into Kaname's body. Instantly, Kaname could feel the beginning effects of Mikan's work.

"There. This Alice stone will last for five weeks and the stone is a combination of the healing and longevity Alice. You won't be able to use the Alice themselves, but the power of the Alice would work on you. I have also placed a barrier around the stone so that no one will be able to detect the stone's presence and question about it," Mikan explained. The Alice stone that she inserted into Kaname was a different kind of Alice stone that Mikan developed/discovered. The receiver would experience the effects of the Alice stones, but he/she would not be able to use the power of the Alice stone as they wish, like ordinary Alice stones.

"Arigato. I feel much better already."

Mikan just smiled in response as she proceeded to copying Kaname's Alice. When she was done, she was at the peak of her happiness. '_Yay! I finally have a copy of this Alice!'_ She thought as she did a mental victory dance.

"Arigato!" Mikan said with joy. "Well, I should probably leave now. You need your rest, don't you?"

"…I just woke up," Kaname replied. "So no, I don't need any more rest for a while."

"Well, the doctors are coming, so I will leave for now, but would you like me to bring something with me the next time I visit? I plan on visiting one more time before you leave the hospital."

"Well, I guess you can get me my school work somehow. I have quite a few assignments stacking up from my stay in the hospital… so if I am going to go to school regularly now, I better do them," Kaname said with a sheepish smile.

Mikan just giggled and remarked, "That would be a good idea. Well then, bye. See you later."

"Bye. Arigato."

Mikan nodded in response and dematerialized into the air.

* * *

**[Note]—**

Kimono is a "Japanese traditional garment worn by women, men and children." (from wiki) If you wanna know more about it, please search it online, I guess. A susohiki kimono "is mostly worn by geisha or by stage performers of the traditional Japanese dance. It is quite long, compared to regular kimono, because the skirt is supposed to trail along the floor." (From wiki) By the way, kimonos have several layers.

Kanzashi hairpins "**are **traditional hair accessories suited with kimono and yukata fashion for women. Kanzashi are mainly worn by professional kimono-clad female such as geisha, geiko, maiko, buyo-dancer, or worn at special ceremonies such as shichigosan, new year, tea ceremony, ikebana ceremony and costume play." (from kimono(dot)sighvogue(dot)com)

Geta are a kind of sandal with an elevated wooden base that is worn with traditional Japanese clothing like kimono and yukata.

By the way, Aoi doesn't know Mikan is the cause of Natsume and Ruka having to attend Gakuen Alice… yet. And Aoi doesn't know Mikan is that kitty she saw… yet.

Rei's appearance during the mission is similar to how he was during his appearance in Vol. 05 Ch. 27 of the manga when he substituted for Makihara-sensei (the social study aka history teacher) during the first semester exams.

The reason that I said that "The Alice stone that she inserted into Kaname was a different kind of Alice stone that Mikan developed/discovered on her own" is because Yuka might possibly know how to do as well, since she had inserted a nullification Alice stone into Rei when he was young, but he doesn't seem to be able to use the nullification Alice like Shiki can with the Alices that Yuka inserted in him. Same case with the ESP. The ESP has the mark of death Alice and nullification Alice within him, but he can't seem to use the Alices' power. Or maybe that's just because they aren't compatible with those Alices, so they can't use the power. I am not sure. But in this case (with Kaname), I will just have it that it's a different type of Alice stone.

The reason the Mikan tells Youchi and Aoi her real name (Mikan) is because they are going to be living with her for a while and thus would be hidden from public. She doesn't tell Kaname her real name because Kaname is still out in the academy and others might read his mind or let it slip, so she would rather play it safe.

* * *

Thank you for reading this newest chapter. I am not sure when chapter 06 comes out. But hopefully before I start school. :)

Guess who's the new friend that Mikan meets next chapter? The next chapter is gonna have a part of the 'in a week or so' future and then it's gonna do a time jump again. Mikan is going to be going to an around the trip and so she's preparing for it. Then there's gonna be another time jump to when Mikan comes back from the trip. I am spending some chapters on Mikan's past before Mikan's official entrance into Gakuen Alice when she's 15/16. I will also be doing some of the events that occured when Mikan was 10 (real GA time in manga's beginning) because a few of those events (like Natsume's kidnap) would have happened with or without Mikan.

Well anyways, until next time. Thank you for reading this newest chapter. I would love feedbacks. :) Happy Holidays everyone~ My next update should be either before 1/1 or on 1/1, depending on my writing speed of the next chapter. :)

~Zenophobiaz

Published: 12/25/10


	6. Chapter 06: The Bear

**A/N:** Thank you to Melyss and Akatsuki Utaou for reviewing! :)

This is a pretty short chapter (in my standards) since it was only 4000 words... and it's also pretty uneventful... but please... Enjoy! :)

**Happy new year, everyone! It's 2011! I wonder where 2010 has gone... thinking back... on 01/01/10, I would have never imagined myself as a fanfic writer, but I guess, things changed. Fanfic writing has been too much fun. I must think everyone!**

**Happy birthday to... Mikan Sakura! :) This is a birthday present for her and a new year present for all of my readers. Thank you so much for reading this story.**

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice. But man... did you see that newest chapter? *wide eyes* I bet that person that Mikan was smiling at is the ESP! I can't wait till the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 06 – The Bear**

* * *

**A week later…**

"Miyu-chan! You are here!" Kaname exclaimed with a smile as Mikan materialized in Kaname's room. He had finally gotten out of the hospital two days ago after the "miraculous" recovery. As promised, Mikan visited another time and brought Kaname's school work with her. How she got it, he didn't know.

"Yes, I came to see how you are doing, Kaname-senpai. Everything okay?" Mikan asked with a nod and gentle smile as she walked over to his bed and sat down. She had on a white blouse with frills and a black ribbon tied into a butterfly knot at the front and a pair of black short shorts. She was also wearing a pair of black flip-flops and there was a charm bracelet on her wrist.

"I am doing fine... I started attending school today and everyone was surprised by my sudden attendance." Kaname was sitting on a beanbag while sewing his latest doll and was still in his elementary school uniform.

"So how many gifts did you get?" Mikan asked with knowing eyes. In the short time that she had known him (and from her research), she had learned how much of a natural manipulator and lady killer he is.

"Many new stuffed animal materials, some cake, flowers and a party," Kaname replied with a chuckle, not surprised at Mikan's insightfulness. Just like Mikan, he had learned that Mikan was a very sharp but kind girl and she was a very good at reading people in this short period of time.

"Sweet! Do you still have your cake?" Mikan asked as she looked around the two-star room.

"Yeah. It's in the refrigerator," Kaname replied.

"Nice." Mikan disappeared for a few seconds and when she reappeared, she had a cake box in her hand. "May I?"

"Sure. Just leave a few behind. I want to bring them for tea to Bear's place. I want him to meet you."

"Alright!" Mikan had gotten comfortable with Kaname quickly, maybe because he's so kind, easy-going and friendly. But yeah, she was no longer afraid of Kaname or shy around him. "I finally get to meet Bear-san, huh."

"Yes. But… as a warning, he is quite independent and stubborn. He usually won't accept help from others and relies on himself too much. He is hard to understand, so it's easy to get the wrong impression of him."

"I know too many people like that already," Mikan said with a shrug as the image of Rei and her Kage-otousan appeared in her head. "So I will be fine, don't worry about it."

As Mikan took another bite of the cake with a metal spoon that she made with one of her Alices spontaneously, Kaname remembered a question he had. "Mikan, how can you come here pretty much whenever you want? Aren't students like you supposed to be more… I don't know… restricted?"

Mikan shrugged again before replying, "True, most students like me are supposed to be more restricted and controlled, but I am a special case. As long as I inform where I am going and my activities are approved, then I am free to move around. I am mostly 'locked up' in my house though... But I don't really mind."

"Wow… so basically, you are locked up like 90% of the time?"

"Yup," Mikan said, popping the 'p' as she finished off her third piece of cake. "These are really delicious by the way."

Kaname nodded absent-mindedly, thinking about what type of life his friend has.

Noticing Kaname's unusual spaciness, Mikan teleported in front of Kaname with one hand holding her place with the cake and the other hand holding her fork. She crouched in front of Kaname and waved the fork in front of Kaname, trying to catch his attention. "Kaname-senpai? Kaname-senpai?"

"Hu-huh?" Kaname asked, turning his head right and left, finally broken out of his thoughts. When he saw Mikan in front of him, he was slightly taken back. '_Since when was she there?_'

"You okay?" Mikan asked as she took a bite of her cake.

"Yeah, I am fine," Kaname replied with what's supposed to be a reassuring smile.

"Sure," Mikan remarked with sarcasm, clearly not believing him. "You know lying only makes me worry even more, right?"

"Gomen…" Kaname muttered, looking away.

"Mou, I know what you are worrying about anyways." Mikan finished off her piece of cake and another piece immediately appeared.

'_Just how much can she eat?_' Kaname thought with a mental sweat-drop. But that was not the important thing here. "You do?"

"Yeah. You are worrying about my lifestyle and what I do."

"Y-yeah. How did you know?"

"Intuition and logic."

"Oh."

"But yeah, don't worry about me. I like my lifestyle and home-schooling is the best for xenophobic people like me. I am really well-treated anyways. I don't mind not going outside."

"Really?"

"Uh-huh. The lifestyle I have right now is something I like."

"I guess I am glad then. Are you done?"

"Yes, I will finish the rest at Bear-san's house."

Kaname sweatdropped. "Alright then."

"Let's teleport there, well at least to the Northern Forest entrance," Mikan said as she got up from her position and walked over to the cake box. She closed the box and held her hand out for Kaname to take.

Kaname took her hand and then they were at the forest's entrance.

"Oh, by the way, I am invisible for now and only you can hear me."

"Alright," Kaname said as he began walking towards the direction of Bear's cabin.

When they arrived, Bear was holding his ax, about to chop some wood, but he had an evil glint in his eyes and looked like a serial killer.

"Bear!" Kaname called out joyfully with a big smile and sparkling aura.

Hearing the very familiar voice, Bear turned around and his eyes softened instantly. Now he looked like an adorable and cuddly teddy bear.

Bear dropped his ax without a second thought and charged towards Kaname.

Mikan sweatdropped at the scene she was seeing. The once murderous aura had turned into a comforting and heartwarming aura.

"Bear!" Kaname shouted out with open arms. Bear jumped up into Kaname's arms and Kaname wrapped his arms around Bear.

When Bear began rubbing his head side-to-side against Kaname, Kaname began laughing. "Bear! That tickles, it tickles!"

Mikan let out a fake cough to catch their attention. '_I bet Kaname forgot all about me._'

"Oh yeah, Miyu-chan. Gomen, I forgot you were there," Kaname said, slightly embarrassed.

'_I knew it,_' Mikan thought. "It's okay. You guys must have missed each other a lot."

"Yeah. Bear, I want to introduce you to my friend here." Kaname then held out Bear and turned him to face Mikan. "This is Reiji Miyuki, be sure to be nice to her, Bear."

Bear looked at her and there was already a glare.

Mikan sweatdropped once again and nodded with a smile. "Nice to meet you, Bear."

Bear continued his glare.

"Bear, let's get inside the house. We brought some cake with us," Kaname suggested, ignorant of the obvious disdain Bear was showing towards Mikan.

Bear nodded and hopped off, heading towards his cabin and picking up his ax up on the way. When he was at the door, he gestured for them to "come in."

While they were settling into their seat, Bear went to make tea and served it. Mikan placed the cake box on the table and plates and utensils appeared out of nowhere. Kaname was no longer surprised by how things appeared out of nowhere whenever he was in Mikan's presence, it has happened countless of times.

"Would you like some cake, Kaname-senpai?" Mikan asked as she opened the cake box and using a cake server, she placed a piece on her own plate.

"Just a tiny slice please," Kaname replied.

Mikan nodded and as she was serving him a piece, she said," Would you like me to help you redo this cabin so things would be more convenient for Bear?"

"Thanks," Kaname said with a smile and then he thought about her offer. "I owe you too much already."

Bear watched this exchange with confusion. What does his master owe this girl? But having this place renovated does sound tempting.

"_Bear, would you like to go get some wildflowers for your master as a welcome home present?_" Mikan asked Bear via telepathy.

Bear's eyes flashed in surprise. This girl was talking inside his head. '_What Alice does she have?_' But Bear nodded in response since he had wanted to that ever since he saw his master. Plus, he could get the feeling that they wanted to talk alone for a few minutes.

Noticing his nod, Mikan had on a smile as she told Kaname Bear's request. "Kaname-senpai, Bear is going to do something and will return soon. Is that alright?"

"Yes. Go ahead, Bear," Kaname said and Bear walked towards the door with a wave.

"So, would you like to take my offer?"

"Bear is the first moving stuffed animal I ever made. I hadn't mastered the technique yet, so he doesn't have the talking function like the other dolls." Kaname then chuckled and continued, "And with that nihilistic independent attitude of his, no matter who I give him to, in the end, they never got along… For some reason, he just decided to live alone here… I have been all kinds of worried about him while I was in the hospital especially since I can't find an owner for him like with the others."

"But now that you are going to be attending school regularly, Bear is going to be less alone. And Bear was born wanting to always be together with you. Now his wish will finally be fulfilled. Even if you can find him an owner, he will still be the most loyal to you and he will still want to be with you. I think the reason he's so rejecting about a new owner is because he wants to be with you and no matter what, he will only see you as his true owner. He was the first doll that you made. There's a special connection between you and him," Mikan expressed thoughtfully and took a sip of the tea.

"You are right."

"You should accept my present. It would be a great Christmas and New Year's present for both you and Bear."

"Alright. Arigato, Miyu-chan. You have done so much and asked so little in return." There was a grateful smile on Kaname's face.

"To you, it might be little, but to me, it's a very big thing. Being allowed to interact with you and Bear was my Christmas present."

"Really? From who?"

"My otousan and someone else who is very dear to me," Mikan replied with a soft smile that was full of love and care.

"They must be very important to you," Kaname replied as he began to take a bite of his cake.

"Yes they are."

Then they began sitting in a peaceful silence and ate their cake until Bear returned with a bunch of wildflowers in his hand. Using her illusion Alice, Mikan made it so that Kaname wouldn't notice it while she added a paper bag around the flowers along with a ribbon to hold it all together.

Bear's eyes widened in surprise but there was also a trace of thanks in his eyes. Bear nodded in acknowledgement towards Mikan who just smiled in response as she continued eating her cake and dropped the illusion.

"Bear! You are back! And look at what you got me!" Kaname exclaimed with pleasant surprise as he accepted the flowers. "My favorite! You are about the only one who would bring me my favorite wildflowers. Arigato, Bear."

Bear nodded as Kaname gave him a hug and he snuggled into Kaname.

Then Kaname broke the hug and said, "Bear, I am going to go outside to see what needs to be fixed. Miyu-chan here is going to give your place a make-over."

"No, you just need to give me the measurements, I will be able to take care of the rest. Plus, I am not really going to do much."

"Alright then. I would need a measuring tape though…" Kaname said, looking around the place.

"Here you go," Mikan said as she handed him a measuring tape that just appeared.

"Thanks. Alright Bear, be nice to Miyu-chan, okay?" Kaname then headed out without waiting for an answer.

Bear turned to look at Mikan with a speculating glare, he was wondering how his master seemed so… not sick.

Mikan heaved a sigh and remarked, "He should know that leaving you alone with me is _so not_ a good idea."

Bear mentally raised an eyebrow.

"Go ahead. Do what you wanted to do ever since you saw me," Mikan said as she raised her plate and continued eating her cake.

Bear's glint got evil and he began swinging his arms in a circle. Without warning, he charged towards Mikan with his fist in front.

Mikan easily dodged to the side and Bear passed by her, but he slid to a stop and did a sharp u-turn.

Mikan took another bite of her cake before she left the plate and fork on the table. When Bear's fist reached where she should have been, she was doing a one-handed handstand above the table.

"Yo!" Mikan greeted nonchalantly with a wave using her free hand.

Eyes narrowing in response, he charged at her once again, but this time it was a head-first charge. Mikan sprung up and softly landed on the seat that Kaname was sitting on. A second later, Bear met a human wall and fell on her lap with a _plop_ sound. Mikan picked Bear up and placed him on her lap with him facing her.

"Better now?" Mikan asked with care as she petted the top of his head.

Just then, the door to the cabin opened and Kaname entered.

He was slightly surprised by the scene in front of him, but he had on a satisfied smile. "You guys are bonding very well. Here are the measurements."

He handed her a sheet of paper. She took it and held Bear out for Kaname to take. "Arigato. Bear is so adorable. He has been a good boy."

"I am glad. He seems to get into fights with others a lot." Kaname had a look of relief as he took Bear and poked his nose. "This little guy is so independent. I was worried you guys wouldn't get along."

"Don't worry. We will be fine. Bear is just too lovable," Mikan remarked as she stared at Bear fondly and she reached out to pet Bear on the head again. "I am sure he is very glad that you will be able to stay with him now."

"It's all thanks to you, Miyu-chan. Arigato."

"You have thanked me too many times already," Mikan said with a giggle. Then she pulled out her phone and looked at the time. "Oh, look at the time already. I should go now. I will see you again soon, Kaname-senpai, Bear." Mikan then stood up and placed her phone back in her jean's pockets.

"Alright then, see you later, Miyu-chan." Kaname called out as Mikan's image began dissolving into the air.

Mikan replied with a goodbye wave and then she was gone.

"Bear, how did you like Miyu-chan?" Kaname asked as he turned Bear around to face him.

Bear just shrugged and had slightly narrowed eyes.

"You know… you shouldn't be hostile towards Miyu-chan here. If it weren't for her, I would probably still be in the hospital."

Bear tilted her head sideways showing his confusion and his eyes encouraged Kaname to continue. Bear wanted to hear the entire story.

Kaname explained the whole story between him and Mikan to Bear and when he was finished, he remarked, "She doesn't have much friends even though she is so kind-hearted."

When Kaname was done, Bear began thinking about Mikan's actions and the affection and fondness that she showed him even though they only just met. Bear felt like that Mikan understood him and she even covered up for him.

"Bear…" Kaname started, causing Bear to break out of his thoughts and looked into Kaname's eyes. "Can you please… can you please try to be friends with Miyu-chan. Although she said she is not lonely, I still don't believe her."

Bear thought about it for a moment before nodding in response. He wanted to pay Mikan back for all that she's done for the both of them.

"Arigato, Bear," Kaname said with a soft and grateful smile as he patted Bear on the head.

* * *

**One year later...**

"Oi, Aoi-chan, get packing. We are leaving in 16 hours," Mikan ordered as she entered the suite normally, through the doors with the fingerprint scan and everything.

"Eh? What are you talking about, Mikan-oneechan?" Aoi asked with surprise clearly in her voice as she looked up. It was night already and Aoi was laying on top of the bed in her polka-dotted pajamas with her baby pink personalized laptop in front of her. She had been watching an anime marathon and was very absorbed in her current anime.

Within seconds, Mikan was already at Aoi's bedroom door and she was dressed in a long-sleeved pink and gray striped sweater with a pair of jean short shorts and pink-furred slippers. "Oh, didn't I tell you? We are going on an around-the-world trip for one and a half years," Mikan replied with an innocent smile, then as an afterthought, she added, "I guess I didn't."

"Wh-what? Are you serious?" Aoi cried out as she rolled off the bed and darted in front of Mikan with an expression of disbelief.

"Do I look like I am not?" Mikan asked with a raised eyebrow and crossed her arms in front of her.

"N-no... But..."

"But?"

"But this is so sudden!" Aoi felt like she wanted to pull out her hair. How was she going to pack?

"No it's not. I have been planning this for a year."

"Seriously? And you never thought of mentioning this until now?" Aoi questioned, looking at Mikan with annoyance and frustration.

Mikan shrugged and walked past Aoi, wandering over to Aoi's bed. "I guess I forgot."

Aoi looked at Mikan like she had grown an extra head. "You and I both know that's _such_ a lie."

"Maybe." Mikan had on a mischievous smirk and pressed the play button on Aoi's laptop.

Aoi shook her head with exasperation. "You have been hanging out with Serio-san waaaaaay too much. Your smirk looks exactly like his."

"Your point is? I was practically raised by him."

"Exactly. So when are we leaving?" Aoi bounced over to her bed and under it, she pulled out a hidden pink suitcase. '_I wonder if I am going to turn out like Mikan-oneechan when I grow up…_'

"Tomorrow at three in the afternoon. Our flight is at six. We are riding a private plane."

"Who else is included in the "we" you are talking about?" Aoi asked with suspicion.

Mikan smirked in response.

"Serio-san is going as well then? Along with Youichi-kun?" Aoi asked, with her suspicions confirmed by the smirk. Although they had already been living for a year, Aoi was still pretty unfamiliar with Rei and Youichi only allowed Mikan to call him 'You-chan'.

"Of course. But Rei is only going to be staying with us every three months."

"How come? I doubt he was happy about that." Aoi was fully aware of how protective (and possessive) Rei was concerning Mikan.

"Of course not. But we can't have the Dangerous Ability class's sensei and one of Kage-otousan's most trusted helper gone for so long, can we?"

"I guess not."

"Well then, I should get going now. I have other things to take care of before I leave and I should leave you to pack. Remember, 3pm sharp or else..." Mikan paused for a second and looked straight into Aoi's eyes. "...we are leaving you."

Aoi visibly gulped in fear. She definitely didn't want to be left behind, especially since her food and everything are provided by Mikan and Rei, which means that all the food she has now is all the food she has to last for three months if she did get left behind.

"Understood?"

Aoi nodded her head vigorously. "Understood."

"Good then. I am glad we have an understanding." Mikan had on a sweet smile once again.

'_Mikan-oneechan can be so scary!_' Aoi thought with a slight shiver.

"I should go then. Goodbye," Mikan said with a wave as she began dissipating into the thin air.

"Byebye!"

Once Mikan was gone, Aoi blasted on some music and began scampering around the room to find everything that she wanted to bring for the around-the-world trip, finishing before she decided to sleep. Before she went to sleep, she set up the alarm to a volume that can wake up a whole city.

* * *

**The next day… at a private government owned airport…**

"Goodbye, Mikan… Be careful, alright?" Kuonji was worried for his daughter-like figure. Even though this trip was suggested to Mikan by him, it didn't mean that he liked it. The purpose of this trip was to not only explore the world and learn more about it, but it was to also spy on all of the AAO organizations of the world, copy some more Alices and pick up information about the other Alice Academies in the rest of the world. Although they were all Alice Academies, they weren't exactly best friends with each other, they were more like acquaintances and only told each other need-to-know things.

"I will, don't worry about it!" Mikan replied back cheerfully with a reassuring smile.

"How can I not?"

Mikan let out a nervous chuckle. "That's… a good point. Well… I will be calling you every few days to keep you updated and I am going to have two to three people with me at all times. Also, please do remember I am very well trained, so there's no way I will be unsafe."

Kuonji just stared at Mikan for a minute before releasing a worried and exasperated sigh. "You are right. I will try not to worry so much… but I won't be able to keep myself from missing you."

"You better be missing me," Mikan said half-jokingly, half-serious.

"I will. Every single day that you are gone," Kuonji promised with a soft smile and he took a step forward before wrapping Mikan into his arms. He inhaled her sweet scent and he began stroking her hair. '_I don't know what I am going to do without my sweet little girl. I am going to miss her so much._'

Mikan smiled and sunk into the warmth of the embrace. They stayed like that until Rei stepped into the waiting room that the two were in from the outside where the airplane was waiting for them and loading up.

"Kuonji-sama, Mikan and I should get going now," Rei began cautiously.

Kuonji shot Rei a harsh glare before stepping back and looked at Mikan with the glare completely gone. "Come back in one piece, alright?"

"I will! See you soon, Kage-otousan!" Mikan gave Kuonji a quick parting hug before walking towards the door.

"Persona, you better take care of Mikan," Kuonji commanded with a threatening glance.

Rei nodded stiffly and promised, "I will…" '_…with or without your command._'

Rei then left the room as well and Kuonji walked over to the window. As Mikan entered the airplane's cabin, she stopped and looked back, giving Kuonji a goodbye wave.

Kuonji let out a sad smile as he waved in reply and mouthed, "I will miss you dearly, Mikan."

As Kuonji expected, Mikan was able to understand what he was trying to convey and mouthed back, "I will as well, Kage-otousan."

With that, she entered the cabin and Kuonji watched on as the plane took off and disappeared into the clouds. When he finally couldn't see the airplane anymore, he left as well. As he was walking, he took out his phone and called one of his man.

"Moshi moshi, Kamura speaking."

"Kamura, have five AAO prisoners ready in the interrogation room by the time I arrive," Kuonji commanded with an ice-cold tone. He needed something to vent on before he could return to the gakuen.

"H-hai, Kuonji-sama. Do you have any requests in mind?" Kamura replied with a slight shiver. He was used to Kuonji's cold tone, but today, he seemed to be harsher than normal.

"Ones that can last." Kuonji stepped into his car and told the driver where he wanted to go.

"Hai. I will get to it right away."

"Good." With that, he ended the call and turned his gaze to the scenery outside. Although he seemed to be looking at the scenery, in reality, he was actually not seeing any of it. He was thinking of Mikan and the most satisfying ways to torture the waiting prisoners.

* * *

**A/N**: This was a transitional chapter and starting next chapter, I will be following the manga's plotline a little before moving on to my own plot line. :D This chaper's Kaname-Bear meeting was based on the one in the manga when Mikan meets Kaname for the first time and Kaname brings Mikan to Bear's place. I believe this happened in Volume 5 and I did take several lines from there. :) I really liked that chapter and meeting.

Anyways, at the end of this chapter, Mikan is going on a 18 months long around-the-world trip and in the beginning of next chapter, we are going to begin from Volume 3 of the manga, when Natsume gets kidnapped. With or without Mikan being there, Natsume would have been kidnapped... but this time, Mikan is gonna get involved in the hero-saves-the-day sorta way. lol. I might update sometime soon. I have no idea. but within a week or two probably.

Bye bye! I would love it if you guys leave feedbacks for me... so review please~! I hope the best for all of you in 2011!

Until next time~

Zenophobiaz

Published: 01/01/10


	7. Chapter 07: The Kidnap

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews everyone! I really loved them. :) Sorry for updating like... a month. -_- School's been catching up to me. But I did have like more than half the chapter done for like a week or two already... I finally got around to finishing it this weekend. :) Just a head's up to everyone in the future... I am not exactly a punctual writer... and I can get very irresponsible as a writer. So sorry in advance!

This chapter is starting with the events that took place in the manga's volume 3. I am probably going to follow the manga slightly more before going off into my own ideas. :) I hope you guys don't mind that.

* * *

**Reply to reviews that I didn't reply to... **

**Sigy Artyn**- hehe. Yeah. I get what you mean. I am used to seeing them as siblings as well. :3 But I got addicted after imagining them as a couple and reading them as one... Thank you! Have a good 2011 as well! Thanks for your review!

**Ellixx**- yup~ Mikan is very fond of Bear and vice versa. :) Natsume will finally meet Mikan in her normal age form in a chapter or two probably, I am not exactly sure. But I am probably going to go through some of the events in the manga and portray them as how it could have been (in my view) if this was the setting the real manga was in. :) Thank you!

**PaRaDiSe iN RaRo**- lol! I didn't realize that. When I got that name... I just wanted something ending in 'mura' so I just somehow came to that. it would have been hilarious if someone under the ESP is named 'sweet potato' though! xD Thank you for your review!

* * *

**Disclaimer:** Nah, I don't own Gakuen Alice. Wow... I just read the most recent chapters of Gakuen Alice in Chinese raw like last week... and wow... they were nice. sorta. lol. *spoiler* It was actually Bear though... and poor Natsume. I also feel bad for Narumi... _

**Anyways... Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 07 – The Kidnap**

* * *

**Eighteen months later…**

"Konnichiwa, Bear~ Did you miss me?" Mikan greeted as she materialized, leaning against the door to Bear's cabin.

Bear looked up in surprise, he didn't realize that today was the day that Mikan came back. He dropped the book that he was reading and ran towards Mikan immediately, springing up when he reached her and threw his arms around her neck.

"I guess you did miss me. How have you been?"

Bear shrugged in response and jumped back to grab his tea set and some tea and cake for Mikan. He always had some cake in stock in case Mikan or Kaname visited.

Mikan settled herself into a chair and looked around the cabin before smiling with satisfaction. "So you enjoying the gifts I sent you?"

Bear nodded his head as he brought the tea and cake to Mikan. Even though Mikan has been gone, on his birthday, Christmas, New Year, and random days, he would find a box on his doorsteps and when he opened it, he would find a letter and a gift from Mikan.

"You visiting Kaname often?"

Bear nodded once again as he settled into the seat opposite of Mikan and just watched her help herself to the cake.

"Tell me what I have been missing and I will tell you all about my trip," Mikan suggested with a smile.

* * *

**Sometime later…**

"Oh my," Mikan suddenly exclaimed, her eyes flitting to the door. "It seems like you have some visitors. I am afraid I am going to have to cut my visit short. I will come see you again at a later time."

Bear nodded with slight disappointment and stood up to give Mikan a parting hug.

When he released, Mikan gave him a smile and waved before dissipating into the air.

Not long afterwards, his visitors arrived.

"Bear?" Tsubasa called out as he opened the cabin door with his signature goofy smile.

Bear looked up from what he was doing, which was cleaning up, with a slightly annoyed look. He enjoys Mikan's company a lot, but it was cut short due to this good-for-nothing's whim to visit.

"B-bear?" Tsubasa slightly stuttered with his smile turning into a nervous one when he noticed Bear's annoyance.

Misaki then walked into the cabin and whacked on Tsubasa's head.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For being a baka. Hello, Bear. How are you doing?"

Bear nodded in response before picking up the China dishes and walked over to the sink.

"How come you had your tea set out? Did you have a guest?" Tsubasa questioned with curiosity as he walked over to where Mikan previously sat.

Bear shook his head once in negation and pointed at the stuff animals sitting on the side of a cabinet. Those were Mikan's dolls that she kept there since she would sometimes sleep over when Rei wasn't there.

Misaki and Tsubasa sweat-dropped at the thought of Bear having a tea party with stuffed animals.

"So you had a tea party with those friends?" Tsubasa asked as he sat down at where Mikan used to sit. However, there wasn't any warmth left from Mikan's stay at the chair since she had sat with the seat's pillow, which was there in case sudden visits from others happened like this one. That way, Bear can just flip over the pillow seat and no one would suspect a thing.

Misaki whacked Tsubasa's head again at his idiotic question. "No duh!"

Bear just nodded once in agreement before placing the dishes in the dishwasher since he can't exactly wash it himself. This dishwasher was actually made by Mikan and it was specifically made for Bear.

"Wow, what a nice dishwasher! Did Kaname buy this for you?" Misaki asked and Tsubasa whistled at how expensive and high-tech the dishwasher looked.

Bear just nodded in agreement again.

"It must have cost him a fortune… or maybe he used his charm on those poor girls again…" Tsubasa remarked with a knowing look.

Bear shrugged and gave them a questioning look of his own.

"Oh, we are just here to check on you since Kaname is having his monthly check-up," Tsubasa replied as he glanced around the cabin and noticed several pricy-looking technology, furniture and toys in the room. This was his first time visiting in a long while since Bear was quite intimidating at times and Kaname was there to look after Bear or Bear would visit Kaname on his own. "Seriously, did Kaname get you all of this? Where in the world did he get the money?"

Bear didn't reply and pulled out a broom to clean the floor. The truth was, all of those "pricy technology and furniture" came from Mikan who made them for him and was part of the many gifts she gave him. More often than not, she would just give it to him as a random present, like the water proof mini-motorcycle that has a glass casing for rainy days. She gave it to him as an easier transportation around the school and to visit Kaname.

"Well, anyways, since you seem fine, better than that actually, we will leave you now," Tsubasa finalized as he stood up and approached the door with Misaki.

Bear nodded and held up a hand as a good-bye before getting back to his chore.

* * *

**After Mikan leaves… at the study of Mikan's suite…**

"So you are saying that Mouri Reo is going to be secretly coming here to see the stage and to have a check-up at the gakuen's hospital _**today**_ and no one ever bothered to tell **me**?" Mikan gritted out with clear annoyance as she glared at Rei who was sitting in the chair in front of her and her desk. Mouri Reo was a 23-year-old Alice Alumnus who's the top Japanese actor in Hollywood and is also a singer. His CD sales and popularity are world class and he has also been dubbed as "The Mysterious Miracle Voice", but in truth, he is also the owner of the Voice Pheromone Alice.

Cold sweat dotted Rei's forehead and he visibly gulp. Even though she was seven years younger than him, she could be very… scary when she wanted to be. "Yes. It was a recent decision, so I thought I would tell you when you returned."

Mikan rolled her eyes. "How troublesome."

Rei raised his eyebrow at this.

"Reo works for Z, who knows why he is _really_ here," Mikan explained.

"True."

"Well, I am going to be observing Reo during his entire stay here. Call me when you need me, I will be in disguise by the way." With that said, she disappeared without waiting for a reply.

Rei shook his head with amusement at Mikan's antics, she was clearly still annoyed at him and he was going to have to either wait for her to cool off or buy her some howaloons, which wouldn't be a good idea since many people were at Central Town right now. "Oh well, I guess I am just going to have to wait."

* * *

**Later in the day… on a rooftop of the gakuen's…**

Ever since Reo arrived at the gakuen, Mikan has been camping out on the gakuen's rooftop, watching him through a crystal ball with a lollipop in her mouth. It has been fairly uneventful and not surprisingly, students found out Reo was visiting and were crowding around the entrance to welcome Reo. She watched on as the doctor basically have an one-sided conversation with Reo and how Reo mentioned Narumi's name one time. '_So I guess he still remembers Narumi well…'_ Then she watched how Natsume caught Reo's attention. '_My my, I guess we are going to have some trouble, aren't we?_'

Reo soon entered Natsume's room and sent him to unconsciousness with a drugged handkerchief. As she kept an eye on the rest of the proceedings, she pulled out her self-made phone and called Rei.

"_Yes Mikan?" Rei was curious as to why Mikan is already talking to him._

"I am still annoyed at you, but that can wait. We have a problem right now."

"_A problem?" Rei was instantly alert._

"Uh-huh. Mouri has kidnapped our dear kuro neko."

_Rei's tenseness melted away, if Mikan was this relaxed, there was no need to worry. He said the next part with a raised eyebrow, "And you aren't stopping him?"_

"Nope. I am bored and I want to know what our lovely friends at Z are up to," Mikan said playfully, taking another lick of her lollipop.

"_As if you don't know already," Rei muttered under his breath, fully intending to be heard._

"Oh, you know me so well." Mikan had on a sly smile. "Hm, Reo is leaving now, I gotta go. I will call you later for an update!"

"_Hey― Hold on!" _

But Mikan had hung up already.

Mikan and her crystal ball teleported to a tree near the front gates that would hide her well but let her see what's going on at the same time. She turned her phone to silent mode and watched with amused eyes as Shouda Sumire ran to the crowd informing her fellow classmates how she witnessed Natsume being kidnapped. Without a thought, the inventor, Imai Hotaru, helped her leave the school and chase after the limo with a smoke bomb.

She pulled out her phone once again and turned herself and her crystal ball invisible as she made her way to the departing limo. Once she settled herself onto the hood of the limo, she called Rei again.

"_Hey Mikan!"_

"Hm?" Mikan was sitting in a relaxed posture while watching the permy girl chasing the limo.

"_Don't 'hm' me! Are you seriously going off on your own? What am I going to say to the ESP?" Rei shouted frantically, which was very unlike him. He had contemplated about hunting down Mikan, but decided that if Mikan really wanted to do something, no one can stop her, so it would have been a waste of time and effort._

"Meh, don't worry about me. Just tell the ESP I got bored and I will have dinner with him when I get back. Anyways tell the teachers that are probably freaking out not to worry and that the students will be fine. Bye Rei."

* * *

**On the other side of the phone…**

"Hey!" And just like last time, Mikan had already hung up on Rei. Rei let out a sound of frustration and a string of curses. "Seriously, that girl is so hard to deal with!"

Rei slowed down his breathing and slipped back into his usual cold and calm façade. "Time to deal with the mess Mikan left me," he muttered.

Making his way into the teacher's lounge discreetly, the scene was exactly as Mikan and he had foreshadowed, everyone was in a panic and Jinno was obviously angry and annoyed.

"An elementary student escaped?" Jinno asked in disbelief.

"The student chased Reo's car… the teachers and security guards are in pursuit so I think it will be fine," a fellow teacher informed.

"What is the student's name?" Jinno asked, getting angrier.

"Um, we are matching the number on the student's ID badge. Oh I got the name, sir. Class B… Shouda Sumire, sir!" The same teacher replied. "But… there's a problem. Just now, the teacher at the scene found Shouda Sumire's student ID in an alley. It's possible that she has been kidnapped."

"What! Report this emergency to the elementary principal immediately."

"You have no need to alert the elementary principal with this," Rei finally spoke up and stepped out of the shadows, surprising all the teachers within the lounge.

Jinno's eyes widened at the sight of the DA class's teacher. "W-why are you here, Persona?"

"I am here to inform you that an agent of mine has taken it into her own hands to handle this inconvenience, so you should call back all of those teachers and security guards. She has everything handled," Rei replied emotionlessly, but inside, he was enjoying the various expressions displayed by the teachers. Some were shocked while others were beginning to feel fear at seeing him.

"And may I ask why an agent of yours has decided to do such a petty thing?" Jinno questioned with suspicion clear in his voice. Bringing back a two-stared Alice student isn't something that Persona would normally get involved in.

"Sharp mind, Jinno-sensei. That Shouda girl is not our top priority. Hyuuga Natsume has been kidnapped by Reo and my agent is mainly concerned with that, taking back that girl is just a side task," Rei said with a smirk.

"Hyuuga is kidnapped?" Misaki spoke up with widened eyes.

"Yes, but that is all you need to know. Kuro Neko and Shouda will return to the gakuen by tonight. So recall all Gakuen Alice personnel."

"But―" Jinno protested.

"No buts. Do it **now**," Rei said in a tone that told them of the serious consequences if his orders weren't followed.

Jinno lowered his head in hesitance. It couldn't be helped. When it really came to it, Persona was in a higher position than them. "Hai, Persona."

"Good. I will take my leave then." Without wasting another second, Persona left the lounge.

* * *

**Sometime later…**

"Hey Rei. We are at this warehouse area near a port. I will take care of everything, so don't worry," Mikan texted to Rei with her phone as she walked around the warehouse area. When that was finished, she placed her phone inside her short shorts' pocket.

"Maybe I should have brought a jacket along?" Mikan wondered out loud to herself. "Oh… I should probably change soon."

With that, her previous disguise's blond hair and chocolate brown eyes changed into black hair and blue eyes. A black-colored hoodie also appeared on top of the tank top she was wearing.

She hopped onto a nearby shipping container and pulled out her crystal ball to see what's happening within the warehouse without going in there herself.

"**Should we tie them up again?" One of Reo's lackeys questioned.**

"**No need. Shido, remove the shield in this limited area," Reo commanded.**

"**But, Reo-san…" Shido hesitantly spoke up.**

"**Do it."**

'_Hm, I have gotta put a nullification shield around those two,'_ Mikan thought to herself and even though she was not presently there, she was able to place a shield up without anyone noticing.

"**They have to learn that even united they can't resist me," Reo said as he twisted the Alice limit controller earring so that he could use his Alice. "And I need to find out that girl's Alice." He stood in a relaxed posture and faced the two Alice students completely. "Perhaps you've already heard, but my Alice is 'Pheromone Voice.' I usually control my power with this earring, which is why it didn't affect you before. In the organization, I mainly use my power for brainwashing. So, what's you Alice?"**

**Sumire didn't even seem slightly affected and neither did Natsume. **

Mikan smirked at the flabbergasted face Reo and his men had on.

"**Wait, these kids…. Why aren't they even the slightest mesmerized after hearing Reo-san's voice…?" Shido questioned, completely confused by the situation in front of him.**

**Reo turned to face Sumire. "You are… a 'Nullification'…?"**

**Sumire's eyes widened. "Uh… what? I don't know what you are talking about…"**

**Reo leaned forward to take a better look at Sumire. "Hm… she doesn't really look like her… but… that would have been the only way… wouldn't it?" Turning back on the two, Reo turned his limiter back on and commanded his men, "Hey, look up all the data right now."**

"**Beg pardon?" One of his man asked with a clear look of confusion.**

"**Find out everything that woman was up to circa 10 years ago. I bet it's gonna be interesting. Besides the Kuro Neko… we may have an unexpected windfall."**

'_That woman? Who are they talking about…? It's probably time that I teleported into there to get information from their computers,'_ Mikan thought as she took in the new piece of information she just heard and teleported into the warehouse.

'_Nullification, nullification… only one person had that in the recent years and that would be Yukihira Izumi… but Yukihira isn't a woman… so it must be his love interest they are talking about. Azumi Yuka. She must be it. I am guessing that they had a child from what Reo was saying and what I saw from that picture from the Hyuuga's house… but then… is it possible…? Is it possible that __**I**__ am that child?'_ Mikan's eyes widened at the new conclusion she has come to. Realizing she is getting distracted from the current mission, she shook her head to clear her thoughts and went back to her current task, which was observing the men working on the computers.

Using her heightened sense of hearing, she could hear Natsume and Sumire planning an escape for Sumire while Natsume stayed here to distract them.

'_Ugh. Stupid Hyuuga. Don't go suicide now,'_ Mikan thought with a roll of her eyes. '_But I guess this would be a good distraction for me to get a copy of the hard drive of their laptop._'

As Natsume and Sumire started their escape and everyone got distracted, she took out an invention of hers and plugged it into the laptop. Even though it was only the size of the cell phone, the memory drive was able to automatically copy every single bit of information onto itself within a minute and when you plugged it into a new computer, the memory drive would change it so that the new computer would be an exact replica of the original computer.

Once the memory drive was done copying, she pulled it out and teleported to the outside of the warehouse, searching for Shouda before helping Hyuuga. Within seconds, she hunted down Shouda and appeared before the girl via teleportation.

"Greetings, Shouda Sumire," Mikan called out as Sumire stumbled into her. Mikan caught the flailing girl with ease and held her back up.

"H-huh? Wh-who are you?" Sumire asked with panic as her eyes darted around her surroundings, thinking the girl before her was part of Reo's group.

"I am just help sent from the gakuen. I will teleport you back to the gakuen now," Mikan replied in a soothing voice and a friendly smile.

Easily believing Mikan, Sumire's tension left her body and meeting Mikan's eyes, she questioned, "What about Natsume-kun?"

"After I teleport you back, I will go help Hyuuga. Tell the school he will be fine." With that, Mikan teleported Sumire back to the gakuen without waiting for a reply.

"Well… time to go back to the suicidal kitty," Mikan said to herself with a chuckle.

* * *

**With Natsume…**

"_You must promise me, Natsume. If you are caught by the enemy and if you have absolutely no escape… you must be prepared to take your own life. If you give your power to the enemy and choose a path that threatens the academy… you know what will happen to your precious friends, don't you…? Don't you, Natsume…?"_ An image of Persona standing before him and looking down on him while he was kneeling on one foot, looking up with a face of defiance and piercing stare.

"So it's a regular Mexican standoff, huh…? Well, at least until your stamina runs out. You used yourself as a shield and let the girl escape… that was unexpected. Too bad it was a waste of time though. Did you really think we'd let the girl escape so easily? I just contacted the organization. Sooner or later, my people will capture her and bring her back here. If you cause an explosion… the girl might get hurt too," Reo said with a chuckle at the end.

Reo started again, "What reason is there to torch this place and go back to the academy?"

"_You understand, don't you, Natsume…? The future of the people you care about… depends entirely on your cooperation." _Another image of Persona standing before him.

'_There is… there __**is**__ a reason,_' Natsume thought.

"_Natsume…. Why is it only you who has to go through this…? Why…?"_ A picture of Ruka kneeling before him as he spoke the words while he was sitting with injuries from his most recent mission.

"_Oniichan."_ A standing Aoi in front of him.

'_Who wants to go through life cowering on their knees?'_ Natsume thought to himself as those scenes flashed through his head.

"If you come quietly, I will consider giving that girl a break," Reo finished.

'_Everyday, it feels like my head is held under a pool of shame. And I can't even protect what's important to me.'_

"_Oniichan."_ Another call of him from his beloved sister.

'_I'm sick of the gakuen. I'm sick of you all. I am sick of everything.'_ Natsume finally spoke up, "You just said that sooner or later… she would be captured, right? But you haven't caught her yet." One of Reo's man's legs caught on fire. "And by now, she is probably out of range. If this place goes up… we will be the only ones blown away. As long as it's not a 'wasted effort,' that's enough for me."

Reo and his men were shocked by his words.

"Are you trying to kill yourself, Hyuuga-san?" a voice questioned behind him.

Natsume whirled around, shocked, he would recognize that voice anywhere. _'It's… it's her…! It's really her! And I didn't even realize she was behind me._' Natsume rarely gets shocked and this is one of those rare moments in your life where you will be witness to his shocked state in your entire life. Before he could help himself, he blurted out, "Where the hell have you been all this time?"

Mikan raised her eyebrow and Reo and his agents watched this exchange with barely concealed surprise.

"Did you miss me that much, Hyuuga-san?" Mikan questioned mockingly with a smirk.

A tint of red appeared on Natsume's cheek, but only Mikan noticed it. "Of course not. I only want to know where my baka imouto is."

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out." Mikan began walking towards Natsume, putting an Alice-restriction barrier around the Z group along with Natsume.

As Mikan predicted, Reo tried to use his Alice. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Reo questioned, lacing his voice with his Alice, but it didn't have any effect on those present.

"Just saying, your Alice is being restricted by an Alice barrier. It won't work, Mouri-san," Mikan informed with an amused chuckle. Then she turned to face Natsume. "You look very tired out, Hyuuga-san. Are you sure you are even suppose to be using your Alice?"

Natsume narrowed his eyes in response.

"By the way, Shouda-san has already safely returned to the gakuen," Mikan added.

"How?" Natsume was definitely surprised, but he didn't show it.

"Teleportation. Which is what I am going to do to you now. The next time you wake up, you will be in the gakuen's hospital." Mikan placed her hand on Natsume and before Natsume could say anything, he passed out due to exhaustion and Alice overuse before disappearing into the air.

"What are your Alices?" Reo questioned with curiosity.

"You don't need to know, Mouri-san." Mikan turned to face Reo and his group with cold eyes. "And you really shouldn't have kidnapped the gakuen's students. Tsk tsk, what a bad boy you have been."

Reo scowled. "Who are you to scold me, little girl?"

"As I have said to Hyuuga-san before, age doesn't matter, Mouri-san, power does."

"Oh?"

"Hai hai. Send a message to your boss for me."

"What?"

"Don't mess with the gakuen or its students." As she was saying those words, Reo's men were engulfed in flames, causing them to scream out in agony.

Reo's eyes widened considerably when he turned around to see what was causing his men to scream in such pain. Shocked, Reo snapped around to face Mikan once again. "Who the hell are you?"

Reo was definitely surprised by the power displayed by the girl, he had already seen her using several Alices.

"Well, wouldn't you like to know?" Mikan mocked with a playful smirk. "I will spare you today since I need you to deliver my message, but next time, you won't be so lucky."

Reo remained silent.

Then Mikan raised her right hand and shook her wrist gently. _Ring. Ring. Ring._ There was a bell attached to a wristband around her wrist that no one noticed until now. The rings hung in the now-eerie silence and sent shivers through Reo's body. When the rings finished, the fire disappeared and all that was left were piles of ashes.

'_It can't possibly be, could it? All this time, it was a little girl that destroyed all those bases and missions?_' Reo thought in disbelief. Through the communicators that the agents wore, they had heard three eerie rings, which were identical to the ones just now, before everything went silent and the communication channels were cut off. By the time back-ups arrived, all that was left were shambles and nothing was left, no one was spared. They called the rings… "The Rings of Death. All this time, it was you?"

Mikan just smiled mysteriously and didn't respond, but her ice blue eyes stared straight into Reo's. It was as if she was penetrating his soul with just a stare.

"Who are you?" Reo asked again.

"No one has lived after being a live witness to the 'Rings of Death', but you… you shall live to deliver my message. Goodbye, Mouri Reo," she said, whispering the last sentence. Then she began to dissolve into the air and Reo raced forward with his right arm out, attempting to grab a hold on the girl.

"WAIT!"

But it was too late, Mikan is already gone and Reo is left with nothing but a message and his racing thoughts.

* * *

**Back at the gakuen's hospital… one day later…**

"WAIT!" Natsume shouted out with a tinge of desperation as he woke from his sleep and shot up from his bed, cringing when he did so. Suddenly, a pad of something cool landed on his forehead and he immediately calmed down. He looked up and found himself in a hospital room with Ruka, Hotaru and Sumire.

"Natsume-kun! Are you okay?" Sumire called out in worry.

"Where is she? Where the hell did she go?" Natsume asked as his eyes darted all around the room, searching for a certain black-haired, blue-eyed girl. When he didn't see who he was looking for, he let out a string of curses that made everyone else, except for Hotaru, flinch.

"A-ano… who are you looking for?" Sumire asked with hesitation.

"Did you see a girl before you were teleported?" Natsume asked, slipping back to his without-a-care façade.

"Yeah. She said she was help sent from the gakuen when I asked who she was."

"Did she have black hair and blue eyes and did she look like she was a middle school student?"

"Uh-huh. Do you know her?" Sumire questioned with a trace of jealousy. That girl was very pretty and she had caught Natsume's attention, how she wished she was the girl.

"Not exactly," Natsume muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean, Natsume-kun?"

"Never mind. How long was I out?"

"One day. You are excused from school for the rest of the week, Hyuuga," Hotaru finally spoke up.

"Why are you here anyways, Imai?" Natsume raised his eyebrow.

"Because I was getting pictures of you sleeping," Hotaru replied with a slightly greedy face.

Natsume just glared at her before turning away to look out the window. Suddenly his eyes widened at the sight he met. The black-haired girl he was looking for was sitting on a tree branch that was right outside of his room and was waving in greeting to him.

Without thinking, he shot out of the bed and rushed to the window, slamming it open in the process. Everyone was shocked by his actions, even Hotaru.

"Hold on!" Natsume called out, but by the time he got to the window, she was already gone and all that was left was an envelope in the place of where she sat. He hopped onto the branch easily and grabbed the gray-colored envelope.

When he returned to the room, everyone's eyes landed on the envelope in his hands.

Ruka questioned with curiosity, "Natsume, what is that? And who were you talking to?"

"Ruka… do you remember that bodyguard that was with us when we were sent here?" Natsume asked while examining the envelope closely. It had 'For Natsume' in elegant handwriting on the front and the back was kept shut with a fire-emblem sticker.

"Of course. How could I not? Was that girl you mentioned her?" Ruka responded, his full attention on Natsume.

"Yes. I saw her before I was sent back here… but just now…" Natsume looked up from his examination and stared straight into Ruka's eyes. "…I saw her again. Sitting on that tree branch, waving at me."

Ruka's eyes widened while everyone else was slightly surprised.

"Who is this 'her' you guys are talking about?" Hotaru asked, wanting to know what is going on.

Ruka sent a look to Natsume that clearly asked if he should tell her and Natsume just shrugged and went back to examining the envelope.

Ruka let out a sigh before beginning, "When Natsume and I were sent here, there was this bodyguard who was guarding us and accompanied us. Besides us, Natsume's sister was also with us. But once we arrived at the gakuen, that bodyguard took Aoi with her and ever since then, we have never seen her again."

While Ruka was explaining, Natsume finally opened the envelope and what he pulled out shocked him to the core. "H-hey… Ruka… look."

Natsume handed the photo from the envelope to Ruka. When Ruka looked at the photo, his eyes widened considerably. Hesitantly, Ruka looked up at Natsume with his shock clearly shown. "Is-isn't this Aoi?"

"It must be." Natsume then paused before continuing with clenched teeth, "That pair of eyes… I would recognize it anywhere."

Before Ruka could protest, Hotaru pulled the picture out of Ruka's hands and finally saw what was on the picture. It was a girl around the age of seven with black straight hair and blood red eyes. She had on a big smile with a teddy bear that was half of her size in her hands. She was hugging the bear tightly and she was looking at the camera with joy-filled eyes. It was very clear that she was happy.

"And this seems like a recently taken picture," Hotaru remarked as she looked up.

"Then she is safe," Ruka concluded with a small smile.

Natsume nodded. "But then where is she?"

"Only that bodyguard and _**he**_ would know." Ruka then looked at the envelope and saw a piece of paper sticking out. "Hey Natsume, there's still something else inside that envelope."

Natsume looked down and instantly pulled the folded piece of paper out. He opened it and read it. '_Hey Hyuuga, you should stop being so reckless and do take care of yourself better. I can't always be there to save you. You will see your sister again… sooner or later. So try not to kill yourself in the meantime.'_ Natsume gritted his teeth and continued reading the bottom part. Natsume then realized that the next set of writing was in a different handwriting but was shocked when he recognized the handwriting. '_Hey baka oniichan, stop being so reckless! I am perfectly fine and safe. I am also enjoying life… a lot. So you should as well! I miss you a lot and I can't wait till I see you again, so stay safe! Tell Ruka-nii I miss him as well! Love, Aoi.'_

When Natsume finished reading, he silently handed the letter to Ruka to read before looking away and started staring out of the window. '_So she is perfectly safe and is even enjoying life huh… But where are you, baka imouto?_'

* * *

[**Notes**] –

BTW, Mikan was able to pull that stunt of chasing Reo on a short notice without getting punished is because 1) The ESP wouldn't be able to hurt her on purpose. 2) The ESP couldn't have stopped her even if he wanted. 3) Mikan + bored = a bad combination. 4) That side of her personality is part of her charm and they (Rei and ESP) love it even when they are annoyed by it.

By the end of this… Natsume still has that cool pad thingie (Tranquilizer Patch) on. :P But he has forgotten all about it.

Several of the lines from when Rei was in the teacher's lounge were directly taken from the manga. They are from Volume 3 Chapter 14, so they aren't mine. Actually I am going to be taking some more lines from the manga later on in this story, so just a head's up, they aren't mine. The part where Natsume said those words to Reo and his thoughts before Mikan came into the scene are also directly taken from the manga.

Rei is around 17 here and Mikan is 10. Aoi is around 7, as alluded to in the chapter.

Yes, Mikan, Rei, and the ESP knows that Reo is secretly part of the Z Organization, unlike in the manga where practically no one knew, but they just don't feel like letting the opposing side know that they do know Reo is part of the Z Organization. Mikan has superb hacking skills and Alice powers, so it's no wonder that she knows secrets like this so easily. :)

In case you guys got confused by that part where Mikan is at the warehouse area but haven't on in yet and she is just looking through the crystal ball, words that were **bolded** were the events and dialog that are taking place inside the warehouse that Reo, Natsume and company are in. :)

* * *

Thank you for reading this chapter, everyone. How did you guys like it? I am not sure what I am gonna do with the next chapter... I am probably going to be portraying the events in which Yuu's Alice is stolen by Yuka and Hotaru gets poisoned (even though Mikan won't really be there, I have something sorta planned out). So... Mikan suspects that she is Yuka and Izumi's daughter already. :3 She will be delving deeper into this issue later... :)

I am not sure when I will be updating next. Preferably, before this month ends or even on Valentine's Day, but I am not sure... i drag things out and it takes me a while to get a chapter done just coz I only write like a little of the story each day. :P I also gotta work on my other fanfic which is a DGM Poker Pair one... and the deadline I set on it for myself is Valentine's Day, so I will be mainly focused on getting that written. ^^;; But bear with me, everyone.

* * *

Oh and just to get a general view on this plot bunny I had going around in my head, how do you guys like this GA fanfic idea with NatsumexMikan?

**Title:** Your Guardian Angel

**Location:** Alice Hospital

**Timeline:** One Month to three months

**Main Characters:** Mikan Yukihira and Natsume Hyuuga

**Paring:** Mikan x Natsume

**Summary:** Natsume has been in the hospital most of his life, his only friends are his family and his doctor, but one day, he meets Mikan, who's suffering from brain cancer and only has one month to live. But he doesn't know that. Is one month enough for a romance to blossom?

* * *

I hope you guys will leave me some feedbacks! :D If you are confused on anything, feel free to contact me. :)

Until next time then,

Zenophobiaz

Published: 02/01/11

Edited: 03/31/11


	8. Chapter 08: The Z Invaders

**A/N:** Whoa! :O From 4 reviews to 11? Holy shiz... that really really surprised me (in a super happy way). Didn't expect that much since PersonaxMikan isn't exactly a popular pairing and not a lotta people like it. :P But yeah... Thank you to everyone who reviewed since those reviews really made me happy! :) Special thanks to: Aqua, Teddy-san, Melyss, Ellixx, Crimson Yume, VeronicaLover123, PaRaDiSe iN RaDo, Akatsuki Utaou, KashinoxIchigo4ever, Haru Shikamotoroshi, and ChocoStar! **I love you all!** Thanks to everyone else who added my story to their story alerts and/or favorites list, it really means a lot to me.

A 6000+ words chapter... :) I hope you will enjoy it~

* * *

**Reply to reviews that i didn't get to reply to... :)**

**Aqua:** Thank you so much for your review and reading my story!

**Teddy-san:** Hm... RukaxMikan is a nice and sweet pairing. Unfortunately... I am pretty determined to make it a MikanxNatsume pairing. So sorry~ I personally love PersonaxMikan, so you are not alone~ :D Thank you so much for your reviewing and reading my story~

**Melyss:** Thank you so much for your review and for reading my story!

**Ellixx:** Aw~ Thank you so much! haha. you won't have to wait long, Mikan will be meeting Natsume in her real form in Chapter 11 at the latest! :D It's gonna be fun writing that. Thank you so much for reviewing and reading my story~

**Crimson Yume:** I love you! :D Your review has made me SO happy! :) Thank you so much for revealing and reading my story.

**VeronicaLover123:** Nah, Natsume and Mikan won't become a couple but... *pause* I am not gonna spoil this story. :P But yeah, this is a PersonaxMikan story. :) Hope you won't mind that~ Thank you so much for reviewing and reading my story!

**PaRaDiSe iN RaDo:** Thank you so much for your review and for reading my story!

**KashinoxIchigo4ever:** haha. I love that demand. Thank you for reading and reviewing my story!

**Haru Shikamotoroshi:** I am glad you like it! :) And I am glad that those helped! Coz that's what they are for. If I suddenly spring any word on you that you don't get and I forgot to put a translation to it, feel free to ask me about it okay? Coz I get pretty annoyed when I read a story that has no translation and I don't understand what they are saying. I love the 2-year-old Mikan too! Thank you so much for your review and for reading my story!

**ChocoStar:** I am happy that you think so~ I will try my best~ Thank you so much for your review and for reading this story of mine~!

* * *

**[Notes]—**

Arigato gozaimasu = Thank you very much [_"Very good. Arigato gozaimasu," Yuu replied politely with a smile._]

Arigato = Thank you [informal]

Gakuen = Academy/School

Hai = Yes ["_Hai, off I go then. Ja ne, Kage-otousan, Rei." –Mikan_]

Ja ne = See you (informal) [_"Hai, off I go then. Ja ne, Kage-otousan, Rei." –Mikan_]

Gomen = Sorry (informal) [_"Gomen for worrying you, Kage-otousan." –Mikan_]

Okaasan = Mother

Otousan = Father

Baka imouto = stupid younger sister ['_My baka imouto!_' _Subaru cursed in his mind._]

"-kouchou" is an honorific that can be used for principals. Kouchou literally means principal, schoolmaster, or headmaster of a school. You can also just refer to the principal as "kouchou-sensei". But since there are three principals in this school, I will mostly refer to them with a suffix. I might use it later though. So just keep this in mind. For ex: Kuonji-kouchou is Principal Kuonji.

I apologize for the long dialogues and paragraphs in advance.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** As if I would own it. I am gonna stop doing this disclaimer thing soon, we all know that if we own this story, we wouldn't be here writing fanfics and would prob be writing our ideas into the real story instead. :P I don't own True Light by Vic Mignogna either. :)

* * *

**Chapter 08 – The Z Invaders**

* * *

"Mikan! You have got to stop going out whenever you please!" Kuonji scolded with an annoyed expression.

"What are you talking about?" Mikan asked with an almost believable innocence, her wide brown eyes looking up into Kuonji's eyes with an innocence that was comparable to that of a newborn child. She was sitting in a black, comfy, L-shaped sofa that was in Kuonji's office.

"I am serious!" Kuonji slammed his hands onto the desk and stood up as he avoided looking into Mikan's eyes, knowing he would let Mikan have her way if he did.

"I know you are, but I really have no idea what you are talking about," Mikan continued her façade of innocence.

"You have got to stop this oh-so-innocent look!" Kuonji wanted to glare at Mikan, but he knew Mikan still had the look on her face.

Suddenly, Kuonji felt arms wrap around his neck from behind in a reassuring and calming hold. A soothing voice whispered into his ear, "I will be fine, don't worry about me. I cover my tracks well. No one will find out it's me unless I let them."

"Still, you exposed yourself to our enemies. They know your face. They will try to find you. Why did you let Reo live?" Kuonji demanded, his body slowly relaxing under Mikan's hug.

"Because I want to send them a warning to not mess with the students of Gakuen Alice. Also, if they think they know what they are looking for, they will just continue to look for someone with those features instead. They will never think that I have a face and age changing Alice because they wouldn't believe me to have more Alices than I have shown. It's a plan that can kill two birds with one stone. They will never find me but they will continue to look for a person that doesn't exist."

"You have a point, but you should stop going out like that! You are supposed to stay in the basement and only be able to go out with my permission or for training."

"Mah, mah, I just got back. Cut me some slack, Kage-otousan." Mikan waved it off and adjusted herself so that she was sitting in Kuonji's lap. Her head was leaned against Kuonji's shoulder and her arms were still around his neck while his were around her waist, she was basically straddling him like a daughter would do to her father.

"Fine, but only this once, if you do it again, I will give you a lecture as well as Persona."

"Hai, hai, Kage-otousan." Mikan nodded with a bright smile and a twitch at the mentioning of lectures.

Ever since Mikan was six, she was allowed to be outside the Hanahime Den for purposes such as missions and spying along with following DA members on their missions to get more data on them and watch over them in case they needed a hand. When Mikan was seven, she decided to just go on a mission without saying anything and didn't let Kuonji **and** Rei look through the mission she was going on before hand. When she got back, Kuonji, Persona and even the MSP was there waiting for her. Once they saw her, they basically threw a fit and became overprotective 'parents'. They gave her so many lectures that it became even more tiring than the mission itself, so to save herself from the lectures and to not worry them as much, she never went on a mission without giving them all of her mission's information again.

"You still call me by that?" Kuonji raised an eyebrow at the name.

"Of course, why would I not? Kage means shadow and you are the shadow that continues to watch over me always and forever. You have always been there, just like Rei. They say that your name, Kageri, means the shadow over one's happiness, and I agree with that." Kuonji widened his eyes at that, a sense of fear washing over him, he was afraid that Mikan will leave him now. "But I agree because you are the shadow that _insures_ my happiness," Mikan ended her speech with a heartwarming hug.

"Arigato." Kuonji was very touched by Mikan's words, but he would never admit it to anyone. This is why Mikan is the most important person to him, she's even more important than his plans. She has shown him a limitless amount of pure love and she's the only person to have ever accepted him just the way he is. But what will happen if she were to discover that he was behind the death of her father and the object of her mother's hatred?

* * *

**A few days later, with Mikan, in her suite… **

"**Well, I guess that was an exaggeration, but… Whew. I am awfully tired," Nodacchi commented as he rose from the tomb of sand he was buried in by his Special Ability class students.**

"**Eh? Noda-sensei? What are you doing?" A passerby, namely Narumi, exclaimed in surprise. After all, it isn't everyday that you see a fellow teacher rising from a grave-like site.**

"**Oh, Narumi-sensei. It's been a while. Sorry to trouble you while I was away…" Nodacchi said, looking up at Narumi's smiling face.**

"**Goodness, you're all beat up… But, welcome back! What time were you visiting this go-round?" Narumi was holding a box labeled 'Pumpkin Bombs Rambo Mango, Danger.'**

"**Heh heh… this time, I visited a pretty fascinating period."**

"**Oh! Was it the future?"**

"…**Actually, I was swallowed up by some turbulence in the time stream." Nodacchi cleaned his dirt marks up as he continued, "Maybe it was a side effect from that, but my power limitation bracelet stopped working properly. And thanks to that, I was finally able to get to… that particular turning point I've wanted to visit all along."**

"**What…?" Narumi was definitely shocked.**

"…**Well, I said I was there… But it was actually about a year after the 'turning point'."**

"**Ah…"**

"**And I saw **_**her **_**there. She looked like she was running away from something, in the middle of a blizzard. She was holding a baby that looked like it had only just been born. And she was calling the baby "Mikan." …After that, I was swallowed up by a time wave… and was thrown back to the future and now here I am," Nodacchi finished his explanation.**

"**But then… where is "Mikan"?"**

"My my… how interesting," Mikan remarked as she watched the two teachers converse with a mirror in her room while petting Yoru, her black cat, with her right hand and drinking a glass of fruit smoothie held by her left hand. "That just proves it, I really am **her** daughter. Maybe it's time for me to finally use the Alice I copied from Noda-sensei and take a trip back in time. Don't you agree, Yoru?"

"Meow," Yoru responded with a glance at his dear owner.

* * *

**A few days later…**

"_Darkness of white__  
__you can through the sadness take your flight__  
__And become the wings__  
__that pierce the veil__  
__Spreading strong and true tonight…"_

Mikan sung as her hands danced across the keys of the black grand piano in the living room of the music department of her 'suite.' Unknown to her, because she was so into her playing, there was a pair of coal black eyes watching her performance with a tinge of guilt.

_"Brought into the light at last__  
__by the cold exposing sun.__  
__I was granted freedom tamed__  
__to become the chosen one.__  
__Through the mirror, __  
__Night reflected;__  
__Miraculous to see!__  
__My soul threw away the mask__  
__that hides the deeper me.__  
__Breaking the dark of night, __  
__piercing through the painted white.__  
__Cut it all away__  
__From yesterday__  
__'Til a new era's in sight.__  
__Unlock the heart within, __  
__Let it spread its wings and soar.__  
__Rising up in flight__  
__through the night of white__  
__and fly on forever more!"_

Slow claps were heard in the suite, surprising Mikan who was still thinking about the song she just performed. But without even looking up, she knew who it was. Youichi was watching anime with Aoi in Aoi's place and she wouldn't be picking up Youchi until dinner time, so the only one who the unexpected visitor could be is, "Rei."

"Good afternoon, Mikan. Where are the other people?" Rei questioned as he hid his guilt before walking over to where Mikan was.

"They are over in Aoi's suite." Mikan looked up, meeting Rei's eyes and when Rei finally reached Mikan, Mikan wrapped her arms around Rei, getting off the piano's bench in the process.

Rei sat down on the bench and settled Mikan onto his lap, both of them facing the piano with Rei's arms around Mikan's waist. "How have you been doing, Mikan?"

"Good good. Did you get anything useful from your trip?" Mikan began playing with the piano's keys idly.

"Nothing that you don't already know. So when are you planning on informing Kuonji-sama of your plans to your mission?" Rei replied, easily picking up on what Mikan wanted to do.

Mikan let out a giggle. "Oh, you know be sooooo well, Rei~"

"Of course. So when?" Rei said with a faint smile, he holds pride in knowing Mikan so well.

"I dunno, maybe the next time he comes?" Mikan retorted with a shrug.

"And when is the next time?"

"Tomorrow night, or something like that. So, isn't it finals tomorrow?" Mikan tilted her head up to take a look at Rei's face, whose mask and black lip-stick were off already.

"Mmhm, for the school. As well as for you, but you have nothing to worry about. It's not as if you are going to do anything less than a perfect score." Rei's hands reached for the piano and began playing a simple tune that Mikan taught him.

"Talk about pressure." Rei rolled his eyes at that. "So, I heard you are standing in for Makihara-sensei during his finals?"

"Yeah, he's sick… or something like that." Rei had on a sly smile when he said that and Mikan hit his arm jokingly, causing Rei's playing to stumble. "Hey!"

This time, it was Mikan who rolled her eyes. "You don't have to go _that_ far just to give a warning to Kuroneko, it's not as if it's really his fault."

"Still. He's not as wild." Rei wanted to stick his tongue out at Mikan, but that wouldn't be him.

"Psh. Are you actually encouraging your students to be wild, _**sensei**_?" Mikan asked mockingly as she twisted in Rei's hold so that she was facing him. They could feel each other's breathing, but they didn't think anything of it. This was a normal thing between them. They grew up together and they are each other's best friend, they are also very attached to each other.

"So what if I am?" Rei retorted back with a teasing gleam in his eyes.

"Do you want **me** to be wild as well then?" They were looking into each other's eyes.

"But you already are, little girl."

Mikan pouted at that. "Fine, since I am _such_ a little girl, why don't you read me a fairy tale, sensei?"

"I don't see why not. What would you like? Cinderella? And I think I like you calling me sensei," Rei said with a taunting smirk.

"No, Cinderella is too big girl for me, I think I would rather read about the poor little red riding hood and the _big bad wolf_," Mikan retorted, emphasizing on the 'big bad wolf' part.

"Since I am _such_ a big bad wolf, I am going to be kidnapping you tonight and tomorrow. Leave Youichi at Aoi's place and I won't be letting you go." Rei's last part had a double meaning to it and both of them understood.

"Fine fine, Mr. Big Bad Wolf, I will call Aoi to tell her about the new change then, I hope Aoi can handle Youichi." Mikan wasn't too hesitating towards that idea since it's been a while since Mikan had alone time with Rei and she had missed that part of her life, but she was still slightly worried about whether Aoi can take care of a three-year-old or not.

"She will be fine. That robot can help her as well." Rei was very happy that he will get Mikan all to himself for now.

"True. Whatever. They will be fine." Mikan then made a call to Aoi to inform her of her new responsibility. Once she was done, she slipped her phone back into her short's pocket and turned to Rei. "So… what would you like to do now, Mr. Wolfie?"

"You will see…"

* * *

**Outside of the gakuen walls… on Tobita Yuu's ride back to the gakuen…**

"Tobita-sama. We're almost at the school," the car's driver informed.

"Very good. Arigato gozaimasu," Yuu replied politely with a smile. '_Sigh… A week sure is short… I wanted to be with my family a little longer… But I'll get to see my friends soon. I have to be happy to see everyone._'

"Watch out!" the driver suddenly exclaimed and brought the car to a halt. The car's passengers lurched forward. "Goodness...! Are you alright?"

Everyone got out of the car and headed towards the fallen woman.

"Are you hurt…?" the bodyguard that was with Yuu called out anxiously.

"I… I'm okay. I was just so surprised I fell over…" the woman replied as Yuu's hand reached out for her to hold. The woman was dressed in a trench coat, hat and glasses. "Oh. Thank you…" All of a sudden, her voice had an undertone to it. "…you're so kind."

'_What a relief,_' Yuu thought as he helped the woman up.

"Come Tobita-sama. We must hurry," the bodyguard urged.

"Oh." Tobita glanced back at the woman who had on a unseen smile on her face. '_…That person. She gives me a weird vibe. I wonder who she is…?_'

Unseen by everyone but the woman and Mikan, there was a strange glow when the woman's hand connected to Yuu's.

Once the Gakuen Alice entourage was gone, Mikan stepped out of her hiding place with a lollipop in her hand without the woman noticing. "That was not a smart move on your behalf, Azumi Yuka-san…"

'Yuka' turned around to where the voice came from in shock, but when she turned around, there wasn't a trace of Mikan left. '_W-Who was that? How did they know? Wh-Why did that voice sound familiar though…?_'

* * *

**Some days after Yuu Tobita has discovered he lost his Alice…**

"Emergency announcement for all faculties on site. We have just received information that there are two invaders inside the school. Both are Alices. There are signs that one of them is the woman we've been looking for. We still know nothing about their point of entry. They are currently running in the direction of the escort vehicle, so there is a high possibility they are members of Z. Place the students on "Alert Level One." All teachers take class roll and stand by until the alert is canceled. In case of emergency, faculty members are to—one of our faculty is already injured," the announcer informed via the school-wide intercom.

"My, my, how messy this has become. Don't you agree, Kage-otousan, Rei?" Mikan remarked as she watched the happenings with the monitor screens that project what the security cameras, which Mikan set up, are seeing.

"Indeed," Kuonji replied as he followed the monitors with scrutiny while Rei nodded in agreement.

"I think it's about time for me to interfere, Kage-otousan," Mikan suggested as she watched the Z invaders. She was lying on the black leather couch in Kuonji's office with Rei's lap as her head's pillow. Rei was sitting with his right arm supporting his head in a bored fashion while his left hand was playing with Mikan's hair, his eyes, however, were following the movements of the invaders closely.

Kuonji was just sitting in his office chair while drinking a cup of tea, he appeared to be calm and composed, but in reality, if you look closely, you could see that the hand that was holding his tea cup was slightly shaking. His fake composure did not escape the well-trained eyes of Mikan. "Alright, but please do be careful, Mikan."

All of a sudden, an explosion was heard from the monitor, causing everyone to look at what happened. It seems like an explosion had occurred next to the escort vehicle that held the Z suspect the gakuen's people caught on campus. Another cacophony of panic was heard from the monitors.

"**Ah! Narumi-sensei! Imai-san! We found her!" Fukutan exclaimed in panic.**

"**Really?" Narumi was in disbelief. "That girl…"**

"**Ah... they are at headquarters… right next to the escort vehicle accident…" Fukutan reported with uncertainty creeping into his voice more and more.**

**A unanimous '**_**WHAT?**_**' was heard from the minds of everyone in the faculty room.**

"Oh dear…" Mikan commented as her right hand flew to her forehead.

Another announcement soon came on once more. "Emergency announcement for all faculty… an explosion occurred while escorting a suspect in the loss of Alice incidents to headquarters. Two infiltrators took advantage of the confusion, and the suspect has escaped. It has been determined that the explosion was caused by the combustion Alice of one of the infiltrators. The suspect, along with the infiltrators, is at large, somewhere near Headquarters. In the explosion and ensuing pursuit, three faculty members were hurt. Special Forces are already on the move to capture the three. But the infiltrators possess and are using modified weaponry. We have determined that the one believed to be male is using various Alices in succession, including but not limited to barrier ability, explosions, illusions and teleportation. It appears that the woman has just now stolen an Alice from one of the faculty. We are having difficulty with the arrest and request backup…"

Mikan, Rei and Kuonji's eyes narrowed at the new piece of information. Mikan spoke up, "It seems that Shiki Masachika and Azumi Yuka are here. How interesting."

As if possible, Kuonji's eyes narrowed even more when Mikan said the two's names. He spoke carefully, concealing the surprise he felt, "How do you know it's them, Mikan?"

"As if I wouldn't know the names of two of the most famous people that oppose the gakuen, Kage-otousan. Why do you sound upset by that?" Mikan said innocently. Of course she knew why her Kage-otousan was uneasy with this. He didn't want her to know that Azumi Yuka was her mother, but what he didn't know was, she already knew.

"Nothing," Kuonji replied and Rei narrowed his eyes at Kuonji's response. "Shouldn't you head off now, Mikan dear?"

"Hai, off I go then. Ja ne, Kage-otousan, Rei." With that, Mikan teleported to a location near Hotaru and used the invisibility Alice.

"Kuonji-sama," Rei began and Kuonji responded with his eyes looking over at Rei. "As Mikan said, why are you upset by Mikan knowing the names of Azumi Yuka and Shiki Masachika?"

Kuonji glared at Rei and his lips pursed at Rei's question. "It is none of your business, Persona. Don't get involved in something that you shouldn't be involved in."

Rei bowed his head in an apologetic manner. "I apologize, Kuonji-sama."

With that, Kuonji turned back to the monitor screens in front of him.

* * *

**With Mikan…**

'_It seems like those three are getting closer,'_ Mikan thought in her head as she tracked the movements of the three Z invaders while tuning to Hotaru's mind at the same time. She was currently sitting on the tree branch of a tree that was near Hotaru's hiding place.

'_I should cancel my plan and leave now. There is sure to be punishment, but my best bet is to find some school staff and have them take me back to the elementary division,_' Hotaru thought as she carefully got up, but…

"Too late," Mikan muttered softly under her breath as the three invaders teleported to the small clearing in front of Hotaru's hiding place.

The rustle in the bushes caught one of the invader's attention. "Hey!" Finally seeing who the rustling was caused by, the man named Ishimori exclaimed, "There're kids here…?"

'_Ah… it's them!'_ Hotaru realized in her mind as the announcement describing the invaders ran through her mind. Her heart beat began increasing. '_I am in deep trouble._'

"Gakuen students…?" Ishimori, the man that was captured as a suspect, voiced.

The woman and the other man talked to each other quietly before coming to a decision.

"Let's move. Escape is our top priority now," the man known as Shiki to Mikan decided.

Hotaru just watched them with her heart thumping.

"…Is that a good idea? She might be a kid, but if we leave her…" Ishimori asked, but followed the two nonetheless.

Using her face-changing and age-changing Alice, Mikan changed into the black haired and blue-eyed teenage girl that is her most common disguise. She quietly landed on the ground next to Hotaru and placed one of her hands on Hotaru's arm. At the same time, she used her illusion Alice so that if Azumi Yuka turned back, she would see an image of her daughter next to Hotaru, but only Yuka would see that. Then using a telepathic Alice, she sent a message to Yuka's head, '_Mikan._'

Shocked, Yuka spun around to witness the biggest shock of her life. A splitting image of her younger days was crouching right next to the black-haired girl. Shiki turned around as well to see what caused such a reaction from Yuka.

"Let's go, Hotaru-chan!" Mikan helped Hotaru up.

"Who are you?" Suddenly, recognition dawned on Hotaru. "Are you the girl that Hyuuga is looking for?"

"Such a smart girl you are, Hotaru-chan~" Mikan said playfully.

Without thinking, Yuka began walking towards who she assumes to be her dear daughter.

Sensing her mother approaching her, Mikan said, "Stay safe, Hotaru-chan!"

As Mikan turned around to face her mother, Hotaru began dissolving into the air.

"Mi-Mikan," Yuka whispered so quietly that only Mikan heard it.

"_Yuka! What are you doing?"_ Shiki protested with a telepathic message to Yuka.

'_I don't know… but… it's Mikan!'_ Yuka thought and Mikan grinned inwardly, as she has been tuning into everyone's mind the entire time, while Shiki's eyes widened, having read Yuka's thought.

"I am glad you remember me, o-kaa-san," Mikan whispered with a soft smile and only Yuka heard what she said.

Yuka's expression filled with shock and surprise. "H-how did you―?"

But before Yuka could finish what she was saying, there was a shout of "There they are!" from behind Mikan as the gakuen's guards appeared.

"…!" Shiki immediately teleported behind Yuka and teleported both of them to where Ishimori is.

"We need to go, Yuka," Shiki whispered into Yuka's ear. Yuka was still staring at Mikan with astonishment.

Without aiming really, Ishimori shot at the gakuen's personnel, but Yuka saw where the bullet was headed, it was heading towards the arm of her daughter.

'_NO!'_ Yuka shouted in her mind, but she couldn't form any coherent words to warn her daughter. She wanted to run towards her daughter, but Shiki was holding her back. '_Let me go, Shiki!_'

"No," Shiki said firmly.

Already knowing that bullet was going to pierce into her arm if she doesn't move, Mikan stepped a little sideways unnoticeably so that she won't take the full impact of the bullet. She wanted to get hit, but not enough that she would be in serious danger. She knew that the bullet was poisonous and that if she doesn't get an antidote to it, she could possibly die, but she wants the image of her getting hit by a poisonous bullet to be imprinted in her mother's mind and just an illusion isn't enough. She knew it was a cruel thing to do, but she was a 'slightly' sadistic person that wants this image to be forever carved in her mother's heart. It was time for her mother to start looking for her, without her Kage-otousan knowing that she herself played a part. She isn't trying to rebel against her Kage-otousan or anything, she just wants to have more fun and have her okaasan start searching for her.

The bullet glazed against Mikan's arm causing her to flinch in pain. "_Goodbye, okaasan. Stay safe,_" Mikan sent via telepathy.

Yuka's eyes widened at both the sight of her daughter getting hit and the voice of her daughter inside her mind. Before she could say anything, Shiki was already teleporting the three of them away.

"They got away!" one of the gakuen's personnel exclaimed. Turning towards the injured Mikan, his eyes enlarged. "Are you okay, Miss!"

Turning towards the men, she took away her pain and suppressed the progression of the virus's multiplication with the Alice she copied from Hotaru's brother, Imai Subaru. "I am fine, don't worry about it." Then using the voice pheromone Alice, she commanded, "Forget that you ever saw me."

"H-Hai!" all of the men responded as the memory of seeing this girl dissipated into nothing.

Without waiting another moment, Mikan teleported to her Kage-otousan's office.

"Mikan!" Rei shouted uncharacteristically when he saw the dripping blood on Mikan's arm and bolted to Mikan's side. "What the hell happened to you?"

The ESP's eyes widened as he shot up from his seat and dashed to Mikan's other side. "Explain. Now."

"I just got glazed by a poisoned bullet, that's all." Mikan's voice was getting hoarse and she could feel the poison slowly taking over her arm. She immediately put a barrier within her shoulder so that the poison will only stay in that arm.

"And why the hell didn't you avoid that bullet? And don't freaking tell me that you didn't notice the bullet coming your way, coz I know I trained you way better than that." Rei was losing his calm and he was getting more anxious by the minute. He could tell that Mikan was in pain.

Mikan just shrugged in response and focused on suppressing the virus in her arm.

"Mikan. Where's the antidote?" Kuonji finally spoke up, his anger and worry just boiling under the surface of his appeared calmness.

Mikan smirked at the sharpness of her Kage-otousan. "With Azumi Yuka and Shiki Masachika probably."

Kuonji's expression visibly tightened at that. "Were they the ones who shot you?"

"No. It was that other guy that you guys took in." Mikan placed her unharmed hand over Rei's to ease off his anxiousness.

"Will you be going to get it then?" Just like Rei, Kuonji knew that Mikan could have easily avoided the bullet, but why didn't she?

"Kuonji-sama!" Rei protested. It was too dangerous for Mikan to go on a retrieve mission to who-knows-where in her state.

"Quiet, Persona." Kuonji accompanied his command with a glare to Rei.

"It's okay, Rei, I will be fine," Mikan reassured as her hand went up to Rei's hair and began petting it. Turning to Kuonji, she responded, "Yes, I will, Kage-otousan."

"Alright. I give you permission to do what you deem is necessary, even getting out of the gakuen." Suddenly, it seems as if a switch was turned off and Kuonji's expression visibly softened and he brought Mikan into a hug. "Mikan."

"Gomen for worrying you, Kage-otousan," Mikan said guiltily.

"It's okay. Now go back to your place and rest for a little before starting the retrieval for the antidote, alright?" Kuonji pulled back from the hug and patted Mikan on the head in a fatherly way.

"Hai, Kage-otousan." Turning to face Rei, she held Rei's hand. "Let's go, Rei."

Rei nodded and then they both disappeared.

"Geez… what a troublesome girl she is," Kuonji complained uncharacteristically. '_If this keeps on happening, I am going to end up in the hospital with a heart attack._'

* * *

**Later that day…**

"Greetings, Hayami-san," Mikan called out as she appeared in the newspaper clubroom of the senior division. She was dressed in a typical senior division girl uniform with a black long-sleeve jacket and plaid skirt. She had the disguise of "Yojinbo-san" up, but her appearance matched that of a 17-year-old.

Hayami, president of the newspaper club, looked up from what he was doing and he had a look of surprise on his face. "You are not from the senior division, who are you?"

"Sharp eyes you have, Hayami-san. You can just call me Yojinbo if you wish," Mikan replied casually as she leaned against the wall and was careful on her injured left arm.

"Yojinbo-san then, what do you want?" Hayami questioned in a kansai dialect.

"I would like to know the location of the senior division's 'tunnel.' Tell me everything you know about it."

Hayami was surprised. "So you know about the 'tunnel'?"

"Yes I do. But I never bothered to locate it since I never had a need for it," Mikan answered honestly as she watched Hayami carefully.

"One of our club members had a strong spiritual sense, and has been gathering data on the D.L. about the ghosts they say are in the senior division. That same guy once figured out a spot where some of the ghosts would frequently appear. Go figure—seems that it's the same spot where that ruckus happened that everyone's talking about lately."

"Ruckus?" Mikan questioned, but she already had an idea what he was talking about.

"Two Z members invaded Gakuen Alice. On the day of the incident… seems that, go figure, my club member saw what appeared to be the shadows of two hinky folks near that ghost spot. Well, we haven't nailed down all the facts, so of course I don't intend to go telling the higher-ups at headquarters," Hayami continued while sipping the cup of tea in his hand.

"Where is it then?"

"West building, second floor, north end. This information don't come cheap. And there are one or two things I wonder about the ghosts."

"Oh?"

"Seems that they're not ghosts. Says my club member."

"What do you mean?"

"When ghosts appear at that spot… they always appear in groups of two. And they're always holding an old, small notebook. And one of the ghosts apparently looks exactly like a certain someone at this school." Hayami looks up to Mikan. "According to my source… he looked exactly like student body president… Sakurano Shūichi."

"The student body president, you mean?"

Hayami nodded.

"So the "ghosts' at the ghost spot weren't really ghosts then and the ghost was really the school president?"

"Bingo."

'_No matter how you slice it, it's weird that Z would be able to infiltrate the gakuen on their own just like this. But if they had an accomplice inside the school guiding them, that's another story. If the ghost spot is where the tunnel is hidden… ten to one, our would be ghost, aka Sakurano, has something to do with that tunnel. And on that day, they successfully infiltrated the gakuen with the help of an insider. Look at it however you like, Sakurano comes out suspicious._' Mikan looked up from her thoughts and met Hayami's eyes. "I was only looking for the tunnel but… it seems that I got something more interesting. Since he's got something to do with the tunnel… then this really narrows down to where I can find the notebook…"

"Why are you looking for the tunnel anyways, if I may ask?" Hayami questioned.

Mikan smiled at that. "Can't help asking, can you?" Hayami shrugged at that. "But, unfortunately, I can't tell you. Can I offer you a deal?"

"What is it?" Hayami looked interested at what deal this girl might be striking with him.

"Since I can't be everywhere all the time, would you like to work for me as my eyes and ears within the gakuen?"

Hayami's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"If you have any information that you think will strike my interest, would you please tell me about it?"

"My information don't come cheap though, yojinbo-san."

"I know. In return, I will pay you, but I will also help you." Mikan could tell that having Hayami on her side will help her a lot. She can't keep track of all the happenings in the school and the outside world at the same time, but if Hayami helps her, it would be way easier on her.

"Deal," Hayami replied after thinking it through. He needs more club funding anyways.

"Why did you tell me everything so easily anyways, Hayami-san?"

"Because I could tell that you weren't a bad person."

Mikan smiled at that. "Don't judge a book by its cover, Hayami-san. You must keep everything that happens between us confidential, alright?"

"That won't be a problem."

"Just mail me the information through this once you get it," Mikan said as she tossed a cell-phone like object to Hayami.

"Alright." Hayami began exploring the object in his hands.

"Can you help me out with another thing though?" Mikan asked as she took out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"What is it?" Hayami looked up from his examination.

Mikan threw the folded piece of paper towards Hayami, who caught it. "Pass this over to Narumi-sensei, will you?"

"How?"

"I am sure you will find a way. Don't read it though. See you, Hayami-san." Mikan dissipated into the air once again and when she appeared, she was in the student council's room.

The two occupants looked up from what they were doing when they sensed a new presence in the room.

"Who are you? You are not a student of the senior division." It was Sakurano Shūichi who spoke.

"You can call me by Yojinbo-san. I am here to ask for your help," Mikan responded with a greeting bow.

"How did you get here?" This time, it was Imai Subaru.

"There's no need for you to know. I would like you guys to lead me to the wormhole and tell me how to use it." Mikan was straight to the point and she could see how her bluntness has caused them to be very surprised.

"How did you know?" Shūichi asked as he watched Mikan carefully. He didn't even attempt to lie about it since he could tell that it'd be futile.

"That is of no importance either. Tell me, will you help me or will you not?"

"Why do you want to go there though?"

Ignoring Shūichi's question, Mikan turned to face Subaru. "You owe me this much, Imai-senpai."

Subaru's eyes narrowed at that. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if it weren't for me, who knows what would have happened to your dear imouto-chan when she was discovered by the Z invaders?" Mikan replied with a sly smile.

'_My baka imouto!_' Subaru cursed in his mind. Subaru glared at Mikan.

"I know you do care about your sister, no matter what you say or do. The reason that you two are distancing yourself from your family is that you don't want to drag them under the watchful eye of the school. After all, both you and Sakurano-senpai got caught into _quite_ a lot of trouble when you were younger. Helping your Yuka-senpai behind Kuonji-kouchou's back. What bad boys you two have been," Mikan said in a playfully scolding voice.

* * *

**[Notes]—**

The song that Mikan was singing is True Light (English version) by Vic Mignogna. Love that song, but just saying, this song is like the theme song of this fanfic. You should go find it and listen to it. It fits Mikan really well if you think about it. And the name of this Fanfic was actually inspired by this song.

I have been rereading Death Note again and then I realized that Reiji is like an actual name in Japan, Reiji Namikawa, from the Yotsuba group. I like Namikawa, mostly coz he's my type of guy, resembles Azuma from La Corda d'Oro, and is smart & calm.

Some dialogues are taken from Vol. 06 and Vol. 07 of the manga.

Instead of using the first name of the ESP (Kageri) like I do with most of the characters, I used the ESP's last name instead because most of you are probably more familiar with the ESP's last name. Or would you rather I use his first name, Kageri?

"Ishimori" is really the name of that guy.

You should read the author note under here, just saying.

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and just saying in advance, **Chapter 10 is going to be the beginning of 15/16-year-old Mikan.** Next chapter is going to be about 7000+ words and yes... I have already finished it, but I am going to space out my updates a little. **So I am prob gonna update Chapter 09 next Friday. **I am currently working on two different stories (my other one's from the D. Gray Man fandom) and I have finally decided how I am going to make this work. **I am going to alternate between my 2 fanfics, writing 2/3 chapters per story before switching to my other one**. :) I think I am going to write Chapter 10 before working on my other fanfic though and prob will **leave it on a cliffhanger** (or at least try to).

**As a compensation for being gone for like a month, here's previews of the next chapter, they follow the order of the next chapter.**

* * *

**[Preview]-**

**Chapter 09 - The Meeting with Yuka**

"I know you guys are working under the high school principal, but you guys **must** keep everything that relates to me to yourself. You must not mention this to anyone. Alright?" -Mikan

"P.S. I will leave the job of getting the stolen Alices back to you. Stay safe." -Mikan

"I don't know, but I know for sure that it was Mikan I saw." -Yuka

"Greetings, Z organization and Mihara Kanbu-san." - Mikan

"You have five seconds to decide…" -Mikan

"This is not a wise action, Azumi-san." -Mikan

"I hate liars and I hate people who call me a thief. You deserve to die a slow and painful death." - Mikan

"I love you still, Yuka-senpai." - Narumi

'_What in the world happened to her?_' - Rei and Kuonji

"You knew it was dangerous, but why did you come to the gakuen like this?" Kazu got straight to the point.

"To find Mikan…" Yuka stated with a pleading expression.

* * *

**Thank you for reading this chapter and I would love to hear feedback from you! **

**~Zenophobiaz**

**Published: 3/11/11**


	9. Chapter 09:  The Meeting with Yuka

**A/N: **Thank you to: Haru Shikamorotoshi, Monsieur Runo, Akatsuki Utaou, Melyss, VeronicaLover123 and LuckyTurtle... Wow, what's up with the sudden 'plunge' in reviews, not that I am complaining. I still love you guys for reading this story. :) thank you to everyone who's reading this.

Although it may say it's like 9000+ words... the chapter is only like 8000+ words... they lied. :P

Enjoy~

* * *

**[Notes]—**

Arigato = Thank you

Hai = Yes

Gomen = Sorry (informal)

Okaasan = Mother

Gakuen = Academy/School

I apologize for the long dialogues and paragraphs in advance.

**Warning: **Pretty violent at one part. But I believe it's not violent enough that it needs to go up to M... at least I hope it isn't, I should read that guidance again...

* * *

**Chapter 09 – The Meeting with Yuka**

* * *

"_I know you do care about your sister, no matter what you say or do. The reason that you two are distancing yourself from your family is that you don't want to drag them under the watchful eye of the school. After all, both you and Sakurano-senpai got caught into _**quite** _a lot of trouble when you were younger. Helping your Yuka-senpai behind Kuonji-kouchou's back. What bad boys you two have been," Mikan said in a playfully scolding voice._

* * *

"…How much do you know?" Shūichi finally said.

"I wonder," Mikan responded with a smirk, looking straight into the student body president's eyes, sending uncertainty into the mind of Shūichi.

Seeing that he's cornered by the black-haired girl, Shūichi exchanged a look with Subaru before coming to a decision. "Fine, we will bring you to the tunnel, but I have a condition for you. I don't know who you are or how you know so much, but... don't give the gakuen any clues. Not to what you are doing, the matter of the tunnel, or our involvement in this."

"That won't be a problem," Mikan conceded with a nod.

"We will have to wait until night though."

"Okay." Looking at the student council work piles, she gestured towards it. "Would you like some help with those? I am experienced with that kind of stuff, so I can help, you know."

Surprised by the sudden change of topic, Shūichi stuttered out, "S-Sure, if you want."

Mikan answered with a big smile. "I would love to."

Later that night, as they were walking, Mikan felt a sudden shot of pain course through her arm, causing her to fall to her knees and clutch her arm. Her face scrunched up in pain and huffs of breath left her gritted teeth.

"Are you alright, Yojinbo-san?" Shūichi darted to the side of Mikan, as well as Subaru.

"What is wrong?" Subaru questioned as he touched her arm and used his Alice to feel what is wrong. Through his Alice that can memorize the pain and transfer it to another person or animal, he was able to approximate the amount of pain Mikan was feeling. Shocked, he turned to Mikan and said in a show of rarely lost of calmness, "What in the world happened to your arm? And how the heck were you able to endure this for so long?"

"It's nothing, I will be fine," Mikan replied through tightly clenched teeth as she began working on her arm with the copied Alice of Subaru.

Feeling the amount of pain decreasing, Subaru looked up in shock. "How the heck is your pain decreasing so rapidly?"

Mikan ignored his question and focused on healing her arm temporarily.

"I have been meaning to ask you, Yojinbo-san, why have you been so careful with you left arm this entire time?" Shūichi questioned.

Through her haze of fading pain, she managed to utter out. "You sure have sharp eyes, Sakurano-senpai."

"Why are you avoiding our questions?" Shūichi wish he had the mind-reading Alice right now. Or maybe… '_I can use my wish Alice?_'

Having been reading their minds this entire time, even when she was in pain, Mikan immediately formed a barrier around the two senpai. "Don't even think about using your Alices, Sakurano-senpai."

"H-How?" Shūichi stuttered out.

"Two of my Alices are mind-reading and barrier," Mikan informed with an innocent smile.

"How many Alices do you have?" Subaru questioned with surprise in his voice. It was rare to have a multi-Alice user.

"Who knows?" Having finished healing herself, Mikan stood up and brushed off the pair of black shorts she was wearing. "Let's go. I am fine now."

Subaru shakes his head as a sign of disbelief. But who was he to say anything? He could sense that she was clearly stronger than him. But for some reason, the sight of her brings out the protective brother side of him that he thought he had hidden away long ago.

Shūichi and Subaru both got up and followed Mikan. "So can you at least give us a definite name to call you by instead of Yojinbo-san," Shūichi asked when he caught up.

"It's of no importance. You guys won't remember me by tomorrow morning anyways," Mikan replied nonchalantly.

Both men's eyes widened. Subaru was the first to be composed enough to say anything, "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said." Mikan glanced at both of them from the corner of her eye.

"Must you take away our memory?" Shūichi asked with a tinge of sadness. Even though he has only met her earlier that afternoon, he feels like there is already a deep bond between them and he found her really fun to be around, he didn't want to forget her. He was sure Subaru felt the same.

"Why? Do you want to remember me that badly?" Mikan asked, half mocking, half serious.

"Yes," both Subaru and Shūichi answered at the same time without hesitance. They looked at each other with a tinge of red on their cheeks when they realized how synchronized they were.

This time, it was Mikan who was surprised. They were being so blunt! She was so surprised that she halted in her steps and when her two senpai looked back, her hair was shadowing her face, causing them to not be able to see what emotion was displayed on her face. Shakily, she whispered, "You guys aren't joking, right?"

"You are the one that has access to our mind, so you would know," Shūichi said in a gentle voice.

When Mikan looked up, there were tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. Her Kage-otousan might not like this, but she didn't care right now. Without hesitating, she shrunk to the size of a 14-year-old and ran forward, wrapping her arms around the waist of Shūichi and Subaru.

"Arigato," Mikan said through her tears that were now cascading down her face. This was the first time she has cried in a long time, but these were tears of happiness.

They stayed like that for a while before Mikan finally pulled back and wiped the remaining traces of tears away.

"Let's go," Mikan said with her signature bright smile, making Subaru have a miniature smile on his face and Shūichi to have a kind smile. Mikan held the two's hands as she led them forward. "So… I have a question."

"What is it?" Shūichi glanced at Mikan.

"Where does the tunnel lead to?"

"Anywhere."

"What do you mean?"

"As long as the users have a somewhat concrete image of an actual destination, it can take them anywhere. And the tunnel remembers the place where the last person to pass through came out. Naturally, it knows where the people you're after went."

"I see. So as I thought. Azumi Yuka and Shiki Masachika really did get out using this warp hole. I guess I was correct after all," Mikan said thoughtfully.

Shūichi and Subaru were slightly surprised by how much this girl knew, but they now knew better than to underestimate her knowledge.

"By the way, you guys can call me by Miyuki," Mikan suddenly spoke up. "I also have a promise that you guys have to agree to if you really don't want your memory to be erased."

"What is it?" Shūichi asked and Subaru's head turned to face her to show that he's listening.

"I know you guys are working under the high school principal, but you guys **must** keep everything that relates to me to yourself. You must not mention this to anyone. Alright?"

After thinking it through for a few seconds, both of them came to the same decision. They shared a glance before they nodded their heads and said, "We promise" at the same time.

"I will hold you both to that. If you do speak about this to anyone, I will personally take care of you. You will wish you were dead and your family won't be safe either," Mikan threatened with a stone face in a totally serious voice.

Shūichi and Subaru gulped in fear and nodded their heads quickly in a uncharacteristic manner.

All of a sudden, Mikan's face changed into one with a smile that can rival the sun's brightness. "Good then, I am glad you both understand. Let's hurry up then~"

'_She's bipolar…_' Both Shūichi and Subaru thought.

"I can hear you both loud and clear, you know!" Mikan said with a pout and slapped the both of them in the arm.

"Ow!" the two exclaimed.

Mikan stuck her tongue at them and ran ahead to where she could feel the warp hole is. It was a room named 'Music Room 1.' "We are here. So how does this work?"

"The first condition for the tunnel's appearance is to find a place bathed in moonlight. The second is to use the keyword. And third… "Shūichi entered the key that was slipped between the pages of the notebook into the keyhole of the unused music room's door. "…is to turn the key backwards three times."

"So the tunnel is through a keyhole," Mikan remarked as a sudden burst of light emerged from the keyhole.

"Hurry up, Miyu-chan, this tunnel stays open for about 30 seconds!" Shūichi called out, waving Mikan to stand in front of the keyhole.

Stepping to stand directly in front of the keyhole, the keyhole began sucking Mikan in. "Bye bye~ Arigato, Sakurano-senpai, Imai-senpai."

And then she was gone.

"What an interesting girl Miyu-chan is," Shūichi commented as the keyhole completely closed up.

"Indeed. Why do you think she wanted to chase after Yuka-senpai and Shiki-senpai though?" Subaru asked as he looked over at his best friend.

"Who knows? Maybe one day she will finally tell us?" Shūichi said as he began walking away from the music room.

"Maybe," Imai began following his best friend.

"Let's hope both Miyu-chan and Yuka-senpai will stay safe. You know, Miyu-chan reminds me of Yuka-senpai and Izumi-sensei a lot," Shūichi remarked with a wistful smile.

"I agree."

"But that girl is full of surprises for sure." Shūichi has quickly grown fond of that girl.

"Yes." Both of them could agree that 'Miyuki' has brought them more surprises in one day than they have had in their last ten years.

* * *

**Somewhere else in the gakuen…**

When Narumi returned to his room that day, he found a note slipped under his door, waiting for him. "Narumi, Given your suspicious actions of late... if you weren't one of the headmasters' favorites… they would happily bring you in for questioning immediately. Before worrying about others, you best take great care in your own future actions. Be more careful. –Yojinbo-san"

Then looking down, he found an extra line, "P.S. I will leave the job of getting the stolen Alices back to you. Stay safe."

'_Why would she send me a note like this? But nonetheless, I should take her warning and be more careful. But really, one second she's telling me to stay safe and then she's telling me to risk my life the next. But this gives me the motivation I needed,'_ Narumi thought after reading the note. He shredded the note and threw it into the toilet, flushing the note away so that no one would see it.

* * *

**The next morning…**

"Ishimori-san, are you alright?" Yuka questioned with worry in her voice.

"…Yeah," Ishimori replied as he released another huff of breath. "The side effects of the gakuen's truth serum are worse than we thought… It's my fault we're stuck here… sorry to do this to you after you saved me…"

"That's alright. I'll leave you here to rest for a while. Alright?" Yuka said as she got up.

Ishimori nodded.

"Shiki, come with me," Yuka ordered as she headed towards an area that Ishimori can't overhear them.

"What was that all about back there, Yuka?" Shiki questioned as soon as they were in the clear.

"I don't know. But I know I saw Mikan!" Yuka said quietly in a shaky voice.

"Mikan doesn't have black hair and blue eyes though," Shiki stated.

"But what I saw was a brown-haired girl with amber brown eyes. She even called me okaasan!" Yuka was losing her calm.

"How is that possible though?" Shiki asked.

Slightly shaking her head in a show of her desperation. "I don't know, but I know for sure that it was Mikan I saw."

Mikan, who has been listening to the two's conversation and been following them the entire time, had on a smirk as she inwardly congratulated herself on a job well done. She has successfully gotten the attention of her okaasan and Shiki.

* * *

**Later that night… back at the gakuen…**

"Where are you going?" a voice questioned from behind Narumi.

"Oh my… Misaki-sensei… So you weren't asleep after all," Narumi remarked with a 'oops' expression.

"I knew it… I know I should keep an eye on you," Misaki said as he held up some pheromone guard medicine and gave Narumi a look of suspicion.

"You came to keep watch… I did think it was odd that a hermit (only to me) like Misaki-sensei would ask me to join him in drinking."

"You were clearly acting weird today. It was to stop you from doing anything stupid on your own. If you're acting like that, you must have gotten hold of information worth acting on," Misaki concluded expertly, he just knew his friend too well.

"It would be nice if I had, but all I got was a very vague message from a rather unexpected source," Narumi replied, thinking back to the note he received last night. Narumi's hand reached up to his hair as if to pull a strand back, but that was just a cover to turn off his limiter earrings. Slowly, Narumi's hand reached out to Misaki's cheek.

"Anyway, if you run off and do something else that would get them to target you even more—" before Misaki could finish what he was saying, Narumi had grabbed Misaki and pulled him in for a lip-lock, successfully shocking Misaki to the core and making him pass out.

"I am sorry, Misaki-sensei. You're going to end up hating me again," Narumi said in a carefree tone of voice. Without Narumi's limiter earring, Misaki's pheromone guard didn't stand a chance. "Even without any clues, I need to do this. For me and for my precious students. I am going to get them back…"

Narumi gently laid Misaki down and left a "Misaki-sensei, take care of the rest. Narumi 3" note to Misaki.

"I am off…"

* * *

**The next day…**

'_Ugh. Where the heck is the antidote?_'Mikan questioned in her mind as she searched through the cabinet in the medical room where the people of Z laid passed out lying on the floor using an illusion Alice to hide the sight. She had followed the men as they brought Ishimori to the medical room after Shiki and Yuka finally arrived at the base.

'_It would help if I knew what I was looking for! These computers are completely useless as well! I don't even know what the virus is called! I can tell the virus is getting worse though. The healing Alice won't be of much help soon, especially since I'm not resting. I'm running out of time…_'

Mikan quickly rushed through the rest of the base without being detected. When she entered the basement/dungeon area, she found a skeleton that was in one of the cells.

"Oh? Is that a skeleton I see? What is it doing here?" Mikan asked herself as she examined the skeleton through the jail bars after turning on another illusion Alice.

Suddenly, a hand reached out to Mikan's and clutched onto it.

"Oh? The skeleton can move? How interesting." Mikan examined the skeleton more closely. "Skeleton-kun, would you like to come with me?"

The skeleton tilted his head.

"I will become your new owner and I will bring you to my place," Mikan offered.

The skeleton seemed to be thinking about it.

"Just saying, if you don't come with me, you will be blown up along with the rest of this base," Mikan informed.

The skeleton's imaginary eyes popped out of their sockets and he began waving his arms and legs frantically. He got the keys to the jail cell and opened them. Mikan stepped back to avoid getting hit by the door and the skeleton threw itself at Mikan. You could practically hear its imaginary crying.

"Mah, mah, it's okay. Don't worry. You are safe now!" Mikan soothed as she petted the skeleton's head in a gentle manner.

Mikan decided to teleport to where Mihara aka Medusa, Yuka and Shiki still were.

Once she was inside the room, everyone immediately sensed her presence and turned to face her with a look of shock. '_How the heck did she get in here without anyone noticing until now?_' It was impossible to teleport from outside the vicinity or else Shiki could have done that.

"Greetings, Z organization and Mihara Kanbu-san," Mikan greeted as if she didn't just give everyone the shock of their life. The skeleton was now on Mikan's back piggy-back style.

"Who the heck are you?" Mihara demanded as he stood up from his chair and tried to use his Alice on the invader without his glasses by staring at her, but Mikan was already ahead. She was using a barrier Alice on the entire room, preventing anyone but herself to be able to use their Alice.

"Shiki?" Mihara accused glancing at Shiki.

"No it isn't me. This barrier isn't mine," Shiki declared. He could sense the barrier's familiarity though. '_Could it be…? That's impossible. She would never willingly give her Alice stone to someone. _' Then taking another look at Mikan, he realized something else, '_She's the one Yuka thought was Mikan._'

Mihara turned back to the black-haired girl in shock.

"Correct, it's me," Mikan said with a mischievous smile.

"Who are you? Are you from the gakuen?" Mihara questioned as he ran the possibility of who the girl could be in his mind. Barrier Alice wasn't a really common Alice after all.

"Yes, I am from the gakuen, but you have no need to know who I am. I will be straight to the point. I want the antidote to this poison that you guys shot a gakuen student with."

'_Back then… that bullet really hit her? Is she okay?_' There was shock etched onto Yuka's face, but the only one who noticed it was Shiki since everyone else was focused on the black-haired girl.

Mihara let out a malicious laugh. "As if we would let you get it that easily."

"Of course. I thought you would say that." Mikan had on a smirk and suddenly she disappeared from where she was. A knife was stabbed into the back of Mihara and her voice whispered, "That's why I came prepared."

A choked breath escaped Mihara.

"So… where is the antidote of that virus?" Mikan asked in a sugar-coated voice. "I didn't stab anywhere vital so if you hurry, you still have a chance to live."

"Supervisor Mihara!" one of Mihara's men called out in worry.

"You have five seconds to decide…" Mikan informed as she dug the knife deeper.

"…!" Mihara was shocked.

"5…"

"Hold on!"

"…4…"

"Let's talk―"

"…3…"

"―about this!"

"…2…"

"Please!"

"…1…"

"Fine! Fine! I agree!"

"…0." Mikan had on a feral smile on her face.

Mihara released a sigh of relief.

"You chose the right choice, Mihara-san. Now… get me the antidote." Mikan looked in the eye of everyone inside the room.

"Azumi-kun! Give her the antidote that you have," Mihara commanded.

Yuka dug out the vial of antidote from her fanny pack that was around her waist. Once she got it out, she looked up at Mikan, questioning what she should do next.

"Toss it over here," Mikan instructed and caught the flying object. She carefully examined it and seeing that it looks right, she pulled the knife back and licked the blood off the knife, shocking everyone who saw her act.

Once the knife was rid of Mihara's blood, Mikan teleported next to Yuka and Shiki.

"I suggest that you guys should leave now. After all, you want to go somewhere else right now. I will even loosen the barrier around you guys so that you can teleport out of here." Mikan acted nonchalantly about all of this as she placed the knife back into its sheath that was strapped around the inside of her boot.

Shiki could feel the barrier loosening around them as she spoke. He gave Mikan a questioning look. "Why are you letting us go?"

"Because one is the relative of Hii-sama and the other is the 'sister-in-law' of Yukihira-sama. Plus, I am sure that Azumi-san here is very confused right now and is wondering whether she's going down the right path or not."

Shiki and Yuka's eyes widened, but Shiki's composure soon returned. "I doubt you will just spare us because of that."

"Shiki-san, it's better if you stay in the shadows of the truth," Mikan advised as she stared into the eyes of Shiki.

Shiki stayed silent.

"I am glad you know what I mean. You should go now."

Shiki looked at Yuka and nodded. He held his hand up for Yuka to take. "Let's go, Yuka."

Yuka nodded and took his hand. At the last moment, Yuka decided to do something. She quickly placed her hand on Mikan's arm.

"This is not a wise action, Azumi-san," Mikan warned with a sly smile.

Yuka looked up in shock. '_Nullification…? But that can't be possible… right?_'

But before she could say anything, Shiki had already teleported both of them out of there.

Mikan sighed and shook her head at the recklessness of her okaasan. Now she knew where her own recklessness came from. But… her okaasan just tried to steal her Alice, only to realize that it didn't work. '_I wonder how she will react to this new piece of information. I am sure Shiki-san will tell her I am the same girl from back then…_'

"That was so considerate of you," a voice woke Mikan from her thoughts, it was Mihara. A doctor was currently bandaging up his back.

"Not really. I just didn't want those two to die with the likes of you," Mikan retorted with a mocking smirk.

Mihara narrowed his eyes at the girl. "Big talk, little girl. As if you can single-handedly kill us all."

Mikan had on a diabolical smile now. "Wanna bet?"

"Then try all you want, little girl." Mihara turned to face the newly gathered group of men and signaled them to attack. The men proceeded to charge at Mikan.

Mikan teleported behind Mihara and whispered, "You know, I really hate to be called little girl by people like you. What do you think every single one of you can do without your Alice?"

When Mihara turned around in shock, Mikan was already long gone. When he turned back around, he could see that she was already engaged in a fight with all his men.

The men were trained well, but they were still no match to this girl. Soon, the men turned defensive, but even their best defense was of no use. Even without using a single Alice, Mikan was beating them as if she was just fighting amateurs. Watching Mikan fight was like watching a dance, she was too graceful and exact to just be fighting. Not before long, there was a mountain of passed out men and she was sitting at the top.

"I hope that was entertaining for you, Mihara-san," Mikan said mockingly as she sat with her legs crossed and her healthy right arm plopped on her leg, supporting her head.

Mihara was still in too much shock to even form a response.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to end this." Mikan jumped off from the top and teleported to stand in front of Mihara. The man was as still as the bodies of those that Mihara uses his power on.

Mikan placed her hand on Mihara's arm, snapping Mihara from his trance. "W-What are you doing?"

A malicious grin appeared on Mikan's face. "I am ridding you of your Alice."

Mihara's eyes widened considerably. "You don't mean…?"

"You are smart. Yes, I have _that_ Alice." Without Mihara noticing, Mikan stole Mihara's Alice. "You are Medusa no more."

Mikan pulled back her arm and allowed Mihara to see the Alice stones in Mikan's hand.

Mihara's hand reached out in a futile attempt to get his Alice stones back, but right before his very own eyes, the Alice stones all sunk into the hand of Mikan.

"You sure do have a powerful Alice, Mihara-san," Mikan remarked as she felt the new Alice running through her body.

"Give me back my Alice, you thief!" Mihara shouted, starting to get hysterical.

Hearing the word "thief" come out of his mouth made Mikan's eyes darken. A smile that can match the devil's lit up on her face. "Yes, indeed, I am a thief. And I am going to steal your life next."

Mihara felt as though his heart has stopped, he stumbled back a few steps. How is it possible that someone so young can have such an expression on their face?

Mikan's face was twisted in such a cruel way that it can make even the bravest shiver in fear.

"You shouldn't exist!" Mihara yelled with panic.

"Yes, that's correct. I really shouldn't exist," Mikan agreed and she looked at the legs and arms of Mihara, using the stone conversion Alice she just copied.

As Mihara's arms and legs turned to stone, he cried out, "No! This wasn't supposed to happen! Stop this! I will give you anything!"

"You see, Mihara-san, as you've so nicely pointed out. I am a thief. It's in my nature to steal."

"No, no, no!" Shaking his head furiously, he shouted, "You're not a thief! You don't have to steal anything!"

"Are you calling yourself a liar then? I hate liars." Mikan raised an eyebrow at what he said.

Mihara was speechless, he didn't know what to say and he didn't know how to worm his way out of this one.

A vicious glint appeared in Mikan's eyes. "I hate liars and I hate people who call me a thief. You deserve to die a slow and painful death."

Mihara's eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. Screams of "No!" were heard as black marks began appearing on Mihara's body. The worst thing was, he couldn't even move his arms and legs to struggle against the pain and he could feel his blood circulation beginning to cut off in his arms and legs.

"Quiet. This is what you deserve, so take it silently, would you?" Mikan demanded, but Mihara's screams only increased in volume. Although she had on a look of annoyance, she was also enjoying the screams of pain coming from Mihara.

"Skeleton-kun, you can come out now," Mikan called out as she approached the main computer in the room. Pulling out a USB-sized portable hard drive out of her short's pocket, she plugged it in the computer, successfully duplicating everything.

Skeleton, who has been hiding in a nearby cabinet ever since Mikan started fighting, got out of his hiding place and walked over to Mikan carefully.

Noticing Skeleton's carefulness, Mikan said, "Are you scared of me now?"

Skeleton nodded slightly.

The look in Mikan's eyes turned sad. "I see, would you like me to leave you in someone else's hands then?"

Skeleton shook his head furiously and sprinted over to Mikan, throwing his arms around Mikan's neck.

Mikan patted the skeleton gently. "Do you still want to stay with me then?"

Skeleton nodded quickly.

"But aren't you scared of me?"

Skeleton only tightened his arms around Mikan.

"Well… I guess you can stay if you want then…" Mikan could practically feel the smile of Skeleton.

Noticing that the portable hard drive has finished duplicating, Mikan pulled it out and looked over at Mihara, who was beginning to take his last breaths already.

'_I guess it wasn't as slow as I would have liked it. Oh well. At least it was very painful._' Mikan smiled at that. As Mihara finally took his last breath, Mikan teleported in front of Mihara with Skeleton still hugging her.

"Goodbye, Medusa," Mikan whispered into Mihara's ears as no more heartbeats were heard from Mihara's body.

Teleporting over to where Mihara originally sat, Mikan took Mihara's Alice-limiter glasses and placed it on. "Hm… a little loose but I guess they will have to do for now."

Suddenly, her arm let out spasms of pain. "Crap. It's acting up again!"

Skeleton looked at her in worry, but Mikan just gave him a half-reassuring smile through gritted teeth. "Skeleton-kun, I am going to teleport you back to my place for now. Try to stay at where I teleport you to, alright?"

Skeleton gave her a doubting look but he nodded nonetheless. Touching Skeleton, she teleported him back to a guest room in her suite. Looking around her, she found the self-destruct button in the base and pressed it before teleporting out of there. From some distance away, she watched as the Z base blew up in the smidgens, causing the death of anyone that was in it. There was only broken debris left behind from the base, but Mikan decided she would rather be safe than sorry, so using a fire Alice, she set all of the debris on fire.

As the fire spread more and more, Mikan found it harder and harder to endure the pain in her arms. Even though she has been training her Alice ever since she was two, she still has a limit and she could tell that she was reaching that limit for the first time in a long while. The virus in her arm was continually attacking her body and she could feel that she was having a fever. She knew if she continued using her Alice, she would have dire consequences, but she was a reckless person that still had something else to accomplish. She knew she should also take the antidote already, but she was pretty sure that she would be bedridden for a while after drinking the antidote, so she was just putting it off.

Once all of that debris turned into nothing but ashes, Mikan teleported to where she knew Narumi is and she was just in time for the beginning of the show.

Shiki and Yuka teleported into the cemetery where Narumi was already waiting, but Yuka doesn't notice Narumi yet.

Yuka thought back to a memory of the past…

"_**Sensei? Do you think dreams come true?" Yuka asked.**_

"_**They do. If you don't give up." Izumi looks at Yuka as he says this.**_

"_**You know, my dream… is a really tiny dream. I just want to create a warm home with someone I love. To some it might be a simple, boring thing… But to us Alices, such a small thing seems like a far far off fantasy right now…" Yuka said with a wistful smile on her face.**_

Once Yuka finished reminiscing about that particular memory, she looked up and found herself face-to-face with Narumi. "Naru…"

"…Long time no see, Yuka-senpai. You too… Shiki-san. I knew it. I knew I'd see you if I waited here. I felt that this is where you will definitely come, where sensei is," Narumi greeted.

"…" Yuka didn't know what to say. '_Cold… frozen eyes. Just like when I first met him…'_

"When I saw you again, I wanted to come after you, but I didn't have enough strength… until I told to get back the Alices that you have stolen from you. I will tell you what I am here for. The children's Alice stones that you stole. And the Alice you stole from me that day. I want you to return it and what you took with it," Narumi stated bluntly.

"_**Naru. Don't love me anymore. Don't…" Yuka was pleading him.**_

"…I didn't mean to steal it. My hands acted on its own. Because you… you tried to use your Alice on me for the first time. Because you… you were too intense. I will never be able to respond to your earnestness, ever." Yuka was feeling regret and remorse.

'…_Senpai. Since that day… I have kept on looking for you. And now that I have finally found you…_' Narumi thought as he watched his senpai carefully, observing how she has changed over the years. '_…I will never let you go again… no matter what._'

"So I wanted… I wanted to sever myself from your future," Yuka continued.

'_My heart was hollow. I didn't care about anything. Not your intentions or sensei's dream. All I wanted was to get back the feelings of love that should've been there._' Narumi then finally said, "Thanks to you, ever since that day… I have retreated into who I was before I understood love or romance." '_To cut off my attachment to you…_'

"_**Senpai." Narumi was behind Yuka with his right hand reached out, playing with Yuka's hair tips, and left hand behind his back while Yuka has her arms by her side. "Yuka-senpai."**_

'…_those feelings you stole from me… were my whole life's worth of love. But…' Narumi was looking at Yuka with sadness-filled eyes._

"_**Sensei!" This was a call from Tobita Yuu**_

"_**Sensei!" This was a call from Yuu's classmates.**_

'_I was supposed to be hollow, but…'_ Narumi thought. "I want you to return them… My feelings of love… that you stole with it that day…"

"I can't. If I give it back… you will come after me again."

'_Even without them, I am still coming after you,_' Narumi thought, he didn't know whether this was a good thing or bad thing. '…_maybe I can get closer to her and get back what I lost. It's not love. It's not hatred. It's simply obsession. This cursed obsession of mine._'

"You can hate me if you want… if you can't forgive me for what happened back then. Now, just like then… I can only do things in my own way. The same way... that **you** can only do things the way **you** need to," Yuka finished.

"_**Naru. I know it's a selfish request. But I want you… I want you to stay at the school and protect the children. So that there are never… never… anymore students like us. I want you to carry on sensei's dream here in the school…" Yuka was talking to Narumi on the night that she left.**_

"…Naru. Why is it that you are still at the school? Is it our promise? Are you keeping the promise you made that day? Or…"

"_**Sensei."**_

"…Hmm. Why indeed…?" Narumi said in a mysterious tone of voice.

"Naru… I have a question for you," Yuka asked, remembering what has been troubling her.

"What is it, Yuka-senpai?"

"Do… Do you have a student going by the name of Mikan in the gakuen?" Yuka was staring straight into Narumi's eyes.

Narumi shook his head once in negation as he remembered hearing that name from an earlier conversation with Noda-sensei. "No, we don't. Why?"

Yuka's eyes widened and she exchanged a look with Shiki, silently asking if she should tell Narumi. Shiki just nodded, knowing that Narumi will be able to help them.

Noticing the exchange of looks between her two senpai, Narumi asked, "What is it, Yuka-senpai? Tell me."

"Me and sensei… we had a child and we named her Mikan," Yuka explained and Narumi's eyes widened at this confirmation. "… And when we were at the gakuen rescuing back one of my teammates from Z, I saw a girl that looked like a split image of my younger days and she reminded me of sensei. She even called me okaasan and I could feel that she was Mikan, but when I told Shiki about it, he said that all he saw was a black-haired and blue-eyed girl. Then later on, back at a Z base, a girl came to get an antidote for a poison that hit Mikan. She let us go and when I tried to steal her Alice, I couldn't. I was blocked. I think that girl had the… had the same Alice as sensei. Later on, Shiki told me that the girl at the base was the same as the girl that I thought was Mikan."

By the end of her explanation, Narumi's eyes got even bigger, if it was possible. "H-How is that possible?"

"We… We don't know. That's what we are trying to find out. We thought she somehow became a student at the gakuen, but based on what you just said, she isn't." Yuka shook her head. She was very confused.

"Yuka-senpai… I don't know if this helps… but based on the description I heard… I think I might have met the black-haired, blue-eyed girl you were talking about once before," Narumi informed as he remembered about the trip that he took with Persona to bring Hyuuga Natsume and Nogi Ruka back to the gakuen. "And it was actually that same girl who told me to retrieve the stolen Alice stones back."

'_And the plot thickens…_' Mikan thought as she watched the situation before her lay out. Yes, she has done this purposely. It was time for Yuka to start looking for her missing daughter.

This time, it was Yuka's turn to widen her eyes considerably. "Wh-What?"

"What does this mean then?" Shiki finally inputted as he carefully placed the pieces of information together, but he felt like he was missing something vitally important.

"Naru…"

"Yes, Yuka-senpai?"

"I don't know if I should tell you this or not, but… I am planning to go to the high school principal after making a trip to where I last left Mikan."

Narumi's eyes widened. "H-Huh?"

"I need to trace Mikan down and I can't do that if I am working for Z. I can't run down a path that I am not clear about. The goals of Z are getting more and more obscure and Mikan is going to be the most important thing to me no matter what. It's time to get back my precious daughter that shares my blood and the blood of the one I loved." Yuka turned to look at the grave of her precious sensei.

"I will help you," Narumi declared with clear determination.

"Huh?" Shocked, Yuka looked up and met the eyes of Narumi. Narumi's eyes were brazing with a fire so wild and powerful that Yuka can't figure out how to extinguish.

"I am going to help you. I have lost you once already, I can't lose you another time." Narumi was still staring into the eyes of Yuka intently.

'_Good job… Narumi-sensei, you are doing very well._' Mikan thought to herself with a soft smile. Another wave of pain shot through her arm, she was releasing painful huffs of breath and her eyes were clenched tight. The only reason that the others haven't discovered her presence is that she placed a barrier around her that is sound proof also. Her condition was getting worse and worse.

"Na-Naru…" Yuka stuttered out.

"Wherever you are going, I am going along. You are not going to leave me behind again."

Yuka shut her eyes as she felt tears pricking the corner of her eyes. She knew that arguing with a determined Naru will be futile. "Fi-Fine… Do whatever you want, Naru."

Naru had on a gentle smile. "I love you still, Yuka-senpai."

Yuka's eyes were practically popping out of their sockets now. Even though she could feel that Naru still had feelings for her, she never expected Naru to be so blunt about it. "Na-Naru!"

"Yes, Yuka-senpai?" Naru now sports a smile that is only there when Yuka is there.

Yuka looked up and met Naru's eyes. '_It's… It's warm again… and that smile…_ _Why would you go so far for me, Naru?_'

"Yuka-senpai… I have a request," Narumi suddenly remembered the main purpose he was even here, he was just too joyful that he has made up with his dear Yuka-senpai.

"What is it, Naru?" Yuka asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"I need to get back the stolen Alices of my students."

Yuka's eyes widened in realization. "Oh!" Pulling out a velvet bag from her coat pocket, she handed it to Narumi. "These are the three Alice stones that I took."

Checking inside the bag, Narumi found the three Alice stones he was looking for. He looked up and said, "Arigato, Yuka-senpai."

"Mou! When will you stop calling me with the '-senpai'?" Yuka said childishly with a pout, shocking everyone, even herself.

Both Narumi's and Shiki's shock turned to happiness at seeing the woman they love acting like her old self again.

"You will always be my Yuka-senpai, nothing will ever change that," Narumi responded and Shiki couldn't help but agree with that in his mind, although he probably would have worded it differently.

"Arigato, Naru," Yuka said with a gentle smile.

"Yuka… we should go now," Shiki informed.

Looking over at Shiki, she nodded before turning back to Narumi, "I got to go now, Naru, I will see you again soon… Please be careful and don't tell this to anyone, alright?"

Narumi nodded. "I promise."

Yuka gave Narumi another smile before heading towards Shiki and both of them teleported away.

Narumi could only smile as he watched the last remaining traces of Yuka disappear. Suddenly, a piece of paper floated down and Narumi bent down to pick it up. When he was done reading it, he couldn't help but be surprised.

"Narumi-sensei, I guess you finally got your happy ending. Return those Alice stones to those children and don't worry about getting into trouble. I will take care of everything else. –Yojinbo-san (or I guess you know who I am now. But Shhh…)"

* * *

**With Mikan…**

Huffed and worn out, Mikan used her last remaining strength to teleport herself to her bedroom in her suite. When she landed on the floor, cries of "Mikan!" could be heard before she gave in to the comforting unconsciousness.

Kuonji and Rei were given the heart attacks of their lifetime when Mikan suddenly teleported in front of them in the most terrible shape they have seen her in. They immediately sprinted to the side of the girl and they found that clutched in her hand was what they assumed to be the antidote of the virus she's been inserted with.

Rei carried her to her bed while the ESP went to her medical room to retrieve an injection needle. Once the ESP found it, he immediately went back and injected Mikan with the antidote and a medicine that can reduce the fever she was having.

'_What in the world happened to her?_' was running in the minds of both the ESP and Rei.

When Mikan woke up a week later from her semi-coma, they were very relieved.

"Mikan! Are you alright?" Rei cried out as he took Mikan's hand in his and placed it against his cheek. He had been staying by the bedside of Mikan this entire time and just sent a note to his Dangerous Ability students saying that they were to train on their own for a while since he had an emergency 'mission.'

"I-I a-am f-fine… Rei." Mikan's voice was very hoarse from the lack of use.

"Here, some water," Kuonji slightly tilted the glass of water so that a tiny stream of water was running down to Mikan's slightly parted mouth. Once Mikan had her fill, Kuonji placed the glass back down.

Mikan finally opened her eyes and with just a glance, Rei and Kuonji could tell that something was very wrong.

Mikan's face was etched with surprise before it changed to that of a frightened kitten. In a small and scared voice, Mikan finally voiced out what was wrong, "Rei… Kage-otousan… I can't see anything… I think… I think I am temporarily blind… or even worse, blind permanently. And… I can't use my Alices."

* * *

**A few days later… still in the gakuen…**

"Hey, Naru! Naru, Wait! I said, "WAIT!"" Misaki shouted and Narumi ignored until Misaki threw his special chewy gummy melon at Narumi's head.

"Misaki-sensei? Owiieee!" Naru shouted as he clutched his head, where a bump has formed.

"You're not actually considering helping _that_ woman, are you? If they find out, you'll be in big trouble. You know that, don't you?" Misaki questioned as his melon bounced back into his hand. Unknown to them, Hotaru is speeding by fast on her ducky scooter with Ruka chasing behind her.

"I know, I know. But it's also for me," Narumi replied as he turned to face Misaki with a semi-serious expression.

Ruka crashed into the Hotaru that stopped to a halt.

"Naru…" Misaki began.

'_By doing so…_' Narumi thought in his head.

"Why are you doing this? You will just get hurt once again," Misaki finished.

'…_maybe this time, it will be like what Yojinbo-san said, I will finally get my happy ending,_' Narumi thought to himself in a hopeful tone.

"Just because _she_ is back doesn't mean that you will find the truth. It doesn't mean that you will get what you are looking for."

"Ah ha ha. I know. Don't worry. I'm on top of it." Narumi laughed it off with a wave, hiding his thoughts. '_No matter what… I have to try._'

'…_what's this all about?_' Hotaru thought as she observed the conversation silently, ignoring Ruka. '_Who is the _**she**_ they are talking about?_'

"Well… I trust that you will endeavor to keep this all secret, Misaki-sensei?" Narumi asked as he began walking away, still not paying attention to the extra presences that were watching them.

'_What is the relationship of Naru and this unknown woman…? Why is Misaki-sensei so worried?_' Hotaru watched as Narumi threw a glance back at Misaki-sensei.

Misaki-sensei was annoyed. "I know."

* * *

**Somewhere else is the gakuen…**

The ESP is sitting on a chair next to the big wide window door to a balcony. A coffee table was in front of him with a cup of tea. Rei is standing in front of him with his mask.

"Hmm. First the Z invaders… now Narumi-sensei, too? We can't sit back and idly watch while a member of our faculty independently flits about like that. Regardless of whether or not it becomes public knowledge," Rei contemplated.

"We can easily take care of the Z invaders… Now, the problem is how to deal with this rat, Narumi-sensei, in the future…" the ESP decided.

"Now, now… I was the one who encouraged Narumi-sensei to do such a thing, please do not interfere. Narumi-sensei does not need to be dealt with, I will take care of him once I am fine," a weak voice added as a petite figure appeared by the door frame of the room.

"Mikan…" Rei muttered longingly under his breath.

"Mikan! You shouldn't be out of bed! What are you doing? You are still very weak!" the ESP shot up from his seat and helped Mikan to a nearby sofa.

"Gomen, Kage-otousan… I just couldn't help it when I was getting water and overheard you guys," Mikan said with an apologetic smile.

"Are you doing any better?"

* * *

**Somewhere else in the gakuen…**

"High school principal…" a woman's voice called out as she materialized into the air along with another man.

A light blond-haired man with blue eyes that looked like he was in his 20s looked up from his work in shock, he has not heard this voice in ten years, but suddenly, and here she was, right in front of him. "Yuka? Shiki?"

"Hai, it's us, high school principal, I'm sorry for suddenly coming here like this." Yuka bowed in greeting.

"You knew it was dangerous, but why did you come to the gakuen like this?" Kazu got straight to the point.

"To find Mikan…" Yuka stated with a pleading expression.

* * *

**[Notes]—**

Some dialogues are taken from Vol. 07, Vol. 08 and Ch. 96 of the manga.

"Ishimori" is really the name of that guy.

Anyone realized that at that second to last scene, Rei didn't rush over to Mikan and fuss over her? Why do you think he didn't do so? Why is Mikan so weak still?

This is probably the last chapter to the life before Mikan joining the GA classes at the age of 16/17. :)

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed it. :) I had fun writing these chapters. :D I wrote this chapter and chapter 08 together and when I was halfway done writing the entire thing, I was like, I am definitely going to be cutting this into two chapters. I don't like having such long long chapters that are 9000+ words anymore. -_-

Next update: This upcoming Friday, 3/25/11... :)

Just coz I am already done with the next chapter, I will give you guys a preview...

* * *

**Preview:**

["Mikan, I would like you to meet one of my most trustworthy allies, Koizumi Luna." -Kuonji]

["Don't be too harsh on poor Rei, alright?" - Mikan]

["Mikan is out of your league, don't you even think about going after her, understood?" - Kuonji ]

["All that you will do is hurt her, just like six years ago, don't think I will ever forget about how you almost killed her." - Kuonji]

["I am planning to have Mikan enter Gakuen Alice officially in a few weeks." - Kuonji]

["You know, you really shouldn't go out like this." - Mikan]

["If you get distracted tonight like you keep doing these few days and you get hurt, I won't speak to you for a week, okay?" - Mikan]

[Kazumi nodded. "What's more interesting is that this student is from Kyoto and her name is…" Kazumi paused and looked up to meet Yuka's eyes before continuing, "…Sakura Mikan."]

["What a troubling situation this is, I should inform Yuka-san about the new information… She will want to know, after all, it is her daughter we are talking about." - Kazumi aka HSP]

["This is Sakura Mikan, your new friend. Please be nice to her, everyone!" - Narumi]

**Chapter 10 - The New Student**

* * *

Thank you, once again! I can't really believe that my story is about to hit the double digits~~~

9 is my favorite number by the way. Don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but it seems like chapter 9 of all my stories are longer than the rest of the chapters.

I hope Japan will recover soon and I wish them the best. I am also annoyed at those insensitive jerks that say that Japan deserves what happened to them. No one ever deserves that. What if **you** were the one of those people who lost everything **and **their family?

Best wishes always,

~Zenophobiaz

Published: 3-18-11


	10. Chapter 10: The New Student

**A/N:** Special thanks to Ellixx, Melyss, Haru Shikamotoroshi, Melody-chii, Crimson Yume, Akatsuki Utaou, LuckyTurtle and Iris Butterfly for your reviews~ I also thank everyone else who placed my story on their story alert and/or favorites. Remember this, This really means a whole lot to me. :) I think I replied to everyone's reviews and I apologize if I left anyone out.

Well... we are finally at the stage where Mikan is 16 and she is about to start schooling officially in Gakuen Alice. This is my first double digit chapter for this story and so I guess in a way, this chapter is special. :D I thank you all for staying with me and have fun reading this~

The newest Gakuen Alice chapter (Chapter 144) is very interesting and i had fun reading it. I don't think it's out in English translation yet, but it's already out in Chinese, and I am fluent in Chinese so I was able to read it.

You finally learn what happened to Mikan...

* * *

**[Notes]—**

Warning of bad language in the beginning…

Oh yeah, now that you guys know Kuonji's first name is Kageri, I am going to start using it, so when you see it, remember that that is Kuonji, the ESP, okay? ^^

Just a reminder, the names in this story should be last name first and then first name, and if it isn't like that, then it's probably a mistake. Ex: Mikan Sakura would be Sakura Mikan in this story. That's how a lot of Asian countries do their names anyways, I believe, like Japan and China.

Mou = Hey [Sorta, I don't really know the exact meaning of it, but that's sorta how I interpret it.] ("_Mou! You know I do." –Mikan_)

Hai = Yes

Konnichiha = Hello [And yeah… it's really spelled that way… [こんにちは (Konnichiha) "は" is pronounced both "wa" and "ha". when it's used as a particle it is pronounced "wa" and sometimes in words it is "wa" (like konichwa) but in most words it is pronounced "ha"  
こんにちわ (Konnichiwa) "わ" this is always pronounced as "wa" and is not a particle, it is only used in words.]  
Courtesy of Yahoo answers. I always spelled it Konnichiwa though. :P  
(_"__Konnichiha, Kuonji-sama." –Rei_)

Watashi wa [blank] desu = My name is [blank] ("_Watashi wa Narumi Anjo desu" –Narumi_)

Oui = Yes (It's French btw.)

Arigato gozaimasu = Thank you so much (formal) ["_Arigato gozaimasu, Narumi-sensei._" – Mikan]

Arigato = Thank you (informal)

Dou itashimashite = You're welcome

Okaasan = mother

Sensei = teacher

'-sensei' is used for teachers just like '-otousan' is used for father slash father figures.

Any questions you have about words or something that you don't get, leave a your questions with a review and I will reply back to you.

* * *

**Chapter 10 – The New Student**

* * *

**Six years later…**

"Mikan, I would like you to meet one of my most trustworthy allies, Koizumi Luna," Kuonji introduced as a woman with short strawberry-blonde hair that almost reaches her shoulders and cold blue eyes entered the room. She has a beauty mark under her thick lips and she was wearing a slightly revealing white blouse with black slacks and black high heels.

Luna bowed in greeting. "Good afternoon, Kuonji-sama."

"Hello there, Luna," Kuonji greeted in a sickly sweet voice. It was apparent to Mikan that he didn't have any real affection towards this woman. "Luna, I would like you to meet Reiji Mikan."

Looking up, Luna finally took a good look at the other girl and was shocked to a standstill. In front of her was an almost carbon copy of her last close friend. "Y-Yuka!"

Kuonji narrowed his eyes at that name. "Luna, she's not Yuka. This is Reiji Mikan."

"Do I really look so alike with that woman that you would mistake me as her?" Mikan asked in an amused voice.

"Mikan," Kuonji warned. Although he loved this side of Mikan, he knew she was treading on thin ice. He knew that Luna has an unstable mind and hates Yuka, he did partially cause that after all.

"Of course, Kage-otousan," Mikan said in an innocent voice with a smile directed at Kuonji.

"Why is she calling you 'Kage-otousan,' Kuonji-sama?" Luna questioned with confusion clear on her face. '_Why do they seem so… close? This is the first time I have seem Kuonji-sama act like this._'

"Because—" Kuonji started.

"Because I am his adopted daughter," Mikan interrupted and answered for the ESP. Mikan enjoyed watching the expression of shock dawn on Luna's face and from the corner of her eyes, she could tell that even her Kage-otousan was shocked by her answer. It was true that they have always treated each other like a father would to a daughter and vice versa, but it has never been stated directly.

"W-What?" Luna was very very surprised by this new piece of information.

"You heard right, Koizumi-san," Mikan stated with a pleased smile.

"B-But…" Luna trailed off, she was speechless. She wanted to protest against this, but she knew it was of no use.

"Kage-otousan, can you please leave Luna and I to talk alone? I think we need to do this," Mikan requested, turning to face Kuonji with a reassuring look.

"Fine," the ESP reluctantly relented. "Be careful though."

"I will."

With that, the ESP walked out of the room, giving Luna a warning glare, promising great punishment if Mikan was harmed.

Once Kuonji left the room, Mikan looked at Luna with a friendly smile. "Koizumi-san? Are you alright?"

Luna narrowed her eyes at Mikan. "Drop this act. Why the heck do you want to talk to me alone?"

Mikan's friendly smile disappeared and a cold smile appeared on her face. "Koizumi-san, I was just being friendly." Seeing that Luna was not going to play nice, she moved on. "Koizumi-san, if Kage-otousan wanted you to meet me, then that means he trusts you a great deal and he has something in mind. Since this is not going to work if you hate me, I am only going to state this once. Drop the hatred that is building towards me already, I am not Azumi-san and don't think I am her for even one single second. I am Mikan and Azumi-san is Azumi-san."

Luna gave Mikan a look of disgust, but stayed silent.

Mikan rolled her eyes at Luna's stubbornness. "Stop being such a jealous bitch already. Azumi-san really treasured you and even when you began to hate her, she still didn't want to leave you. But because of something that she didn't even mean to do, and regretted doing may I add, you turned your back on her and just kept hurting her. What kind of friend are you? Were you even her friend?"

"She was the one who betrayed me! What do you know anyways!" Luna shouted angrily, this girl was so infuriating!

Mikan raised her eyebrow. "Oh, I know everything. I even know that you thought she was stealing Kuonji-otousan away. All you are is a jealous bitch. You don't deserve Azumi-san as your friend."

Luna raised her hand and was in the motion of slapping Mikan but she was stopped by Mikan.

"I don't suggest any rash actions on your part, Koizumi-san. I might forgive you, but Kage-otousan won't be as kind," Mikan warned, applying more pressure on the wrist that she caught.

Luna struggled to get her hand free, but Mikan didn't relent. "Let go of me already, slut!"

Mikan's eyes darken. "I already told you. Stop thinking I am Azumi-san. No one is even trying to steal the attention away, stop being so freaking insecure!"

"Don't think you know everything about me! I know I am insecure, but so what? What else can I be?" Luna screamed out with clear frustration, angry tears began to appear in the corner of her eyes.

Mikan's eyes softened as she pulled the taller woman into a hug and soothingly patted her back, not caring if her black t-shirt got soaked. "Just be yourself, Koizumi-san."

Luna's eyes widened at this girl's words. Why was this girl being so nice to her? She didn't deserve it, she knows she's been nothing but a bitch to Mikan.

"I believe that everyone should have a chance to be heard and as you've said, I really don't know anything about you, so why don't you become my friend to let me learn everything about you?"

Luna was obviously shocked. How could this girl be so freaking accepting? She didn't know whether the girl is just being naïve and stupid or what.

"So, what do you say to that?" Mikan asked as she pulled back and gave Luna a kind smile that really reminded Luna of a certain someone's.

But Luna just brushed that thought off and used her hands to wipe away any traces of her tears. She mutely nodded and gave Mikan a small smile.

Mikan gave a big and cheerful smile in return and took Luna's hands into hers. "So… what do you say to having dinner with me tonight? Rei and Kage-otousan are going to be busy, so I will just be dining with this other friend of mine. Would you like to join us?"

'_Rei…?_' She voiced her confusion out loud, "Rei…? Who's that?"

"Ha ha, I guess you know him by Persona. But his real name is Rei and that's what I call him. So would you like to join us?" Mikan questioned as she began pulling Luna with her towards the exit.

"Sure, as long as I am not intruding and Kuonji-sama doesn't mind." Luna began wondering just how much this girl has affected Persona and Kuonji-sama and if the girl would also affect her in the same way. '_Probably…_'

"Of course you won't be intruding and Kage-otousan will definitely say yes~" Mikan said in a joyful voice as she opened the door leading to the hallway. "Kage-otousan~!"

Kuonji, who was reading a book while leaning against the wall, looked up and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the linked hands of the two female. He also noticed Luna's slightly embarrassed smile. "What is it, Mikan?"

"I am going to bring Luna to my place for dinner, alright?" Mikan let go of Luna's hands and bounced towards Kuonji.

Kuonji stole a glance at Luna before replying, "You guys are friends already? That was quite quick. Are you sure you seriously have xenophobia?"

Mikan pouted at her Kage-otousan's teasing. "Mou! You know I do. I don't know why, but I just felt comfortable around Luna-chan without any façades!"

"Sure sure, whatever you say. Are you going now then?" Kuonji said with a teasing smile.

Mikan stuck her tongue at the ESP. "Yeah because you are being a meany-head, Kage-otousan."

Kuonji just patted her head. "Be careful then, Mikan."

"See you later, Kage-otousan!" Mikan gave Kuonji a short hug before pulling back and whispered with a wink, "Don't be too harsh on poor Rei, alright?"

Kuonji's eyes widened slightly with surprise before turning back to normal size and he let out a chuckle. "Nothing ever escapes you, huh?"

"Nope~ Well then, bye bye!" Mikan replied with a giggle before skipping over to where Luna is and took Luna's hands into hers.

"Goodbye, Kuonji-sama," Luna said with a slight bow and Kuonji nodded in reply.

Soon, the two disappeared.

"Being with Mikan will probably do Luna some good," Kageri said to himself before pulling out his cell phone and dialed a number. "Hello, Persona? It's me. Come to my office as soon as you can. Don't make me wait."

"_Hai, Kuonji-sama_," Persona replied.

The ESP snapped his phone shut and entered his office, settling in his seat before resuming his reading again. Mikan got him hooked on this book and he just wanted to finish it, his paperwork will be finished by Mikan anyways.

About a few minutes later, a knock on the door interrupted his reading and he casted an annoyed look at the innocent door before placing a bookmark where he left off and closed the book.

"Come in," Kageri called out as he placed his right elbow on the armchair's arm and his right hand supported his chin.

In came Persona in his disguise who shut the door before slightly bowing in greeting and said, "Konnichiha, Kuonji-sama. Why did you call me here?"

Kageri stared right into Rei's eyes. "Mikan is out of your league, don't you even think about going after her, understood?"

"I don't understand what you mean, Kuonji-sama," Rei replied with a sense of foreboding. He didn't know why, but he felt that this conversation was going to literally shake his world.

"Don't joke with me. Mikan is special to all of us, but you will never be able to be with her." Kageri scoffed and gave Rei a menacing glare. "All that you will do is hurt her, just like six years ago, don't think I will ever forget about how you almost killed her."

At the mention of that, Rei's eyes turned into a tornado of emotions and he could practically feel his heart being sliced open. All he could do was to stay silent as the memory of _that_ incident flashed through his mind.

* * *

**Flashback…**

_Mikan finally opened her eyes and with just a glance, Rei and Kuonji could tell that something was very wrong._

_Mikan's face was etched with surprise before it changed to that of a frightened kitten. In a small and scared voice, Mikan finally voiced out what was wrong, "Rei… Kage-otousan… I can't see anything… I think… I think I am temporarily blind… or even worse, blind permanently. And… I can't use my Alices."_

_Rei and Kuonji were shocked to their core literally, their unnaturally widened eyes were evidence of that._

"_Don't be so shock, you knew that something was wrong already," Mikan said in a strong voice and a tight smile that was masking away the fear that was seeping into every corner of her being. '_Will they all leave me now? Now that I have lost everything that was important about me? Maybe Rei won't, but… what about Kage-otousan?_'_

"_Wh-What can you possibly mean?" Rei stuttered out as the dam that was blocking off his emotion broke, just like that time with Yukihira-sensei._

"_I mean exactly what I said. I am blind and I can't use my Alices," Mikan replied calmly. Looking up to where she expects her Kage-otousan to be, she asked, "What will you do with me now, Kage-otousan?"_

"_Mikan!" Rei shouted out as he enveloped Mikan into a bone crushing hug that spoke volumes about what he was feeling._

_Meanwhile, Kageri was still frozen in shock from what he just heard. Unlike what the other two assume he is thinking, he is actually thinking about how his dear Mikan was so injured and worn out that she is now in such a bad shape. He swore to himself that he will get someone for causing this to his child._

_Unfortunately for Rei and Mikan, since Mikan's Alices aren't working, her nullification barrier is absolutely absent and Rei's emotions were hay-wired and out of control._

_As black marks began spreading over Mikan's body and Mikan had a harder and harder time breathing, Kageri looked at Mikan in alarm. Without hesitance, Rei was ripped away from Mikan._

"_Get away from her, you monster!" Kageri yelled out without thinking as he pulled Mikan into his own arms before laying her down. He placed a comforting hand on Mikan's forehead, and pulled out a healing Alice stone that he always kept with him. Using the healing stone that reacted to Mikan's body, he placed the stone right above Mikan's heart and it sunk in. Fortunately, the black marks stopped spreading and Mikan's breaths became less ragged as she fell into a comforting slumber._

_Rei's hands covered his face as he stared in disbelief at what he had done. He had almost killed another one of his beloved. Why did he have to have this cursed Alice that almost succeeded in taking away his beloved Mikan's life?_

_Once Kageri was sure Mikan was in a less emergency state, he turned to face Rei with a harsh glare. "Persona, you are no longer allowed to touch or come into contact with Mikan in any way. I cannot allow something like that to happen again. You understand me?"_

"_H-Hai… Kuonji-sama," Rei bowed his head in shame and pain._

"_I am glad. Now leave!" Kageri ordered with a parting glare before turning back to make sure that Mikan was as comfortable as she can be._

"_H-Hai…" With one last regretful and longing look towards Mikan, Rei ran out of the suite, heading towards the Northern Forest to train._

* * *

**Back to present time….**

After that day, with the ESP watching his every move, Rei wasn't allowed to come into contact with Mikan until Mikan finally recovered fully and insisted that it was a harsh enough punishment for Rei already, but Rei believed that nothing will ever be enough. It turned out that the sudden blindness and disappearance of Alice was just a result of Mikan overusing her Alice and her body being continually attacked by that virus.

Without missing a beat, Kageri spoke again. "Haven't you always wondered why she looks so much like _**that**_ woman?" Kageri took out a manila folder from one of his desk's drawers. He tossed it towards Rei. "I know that you have already suspected this, but I am going to confirm your suspicions once and for all."

'_No… no… don't do this!_' Rei shouted in his mind, but he was too shocked to say anything. His hand shakily opened the manila folder and took out its contents. It was Mikan's profile and everything about her family history.

"You are the one that murdered her biological father, do you think she will be able to forgive you if she were to know about that?" Kageri said without preamble.

'_Why? Why? Why does fate have to be so cruel? I have finally found the only thing that made me happy and now… now fate is planning to strip it away from me?_' Rei was almost at the brink of insanity. Defiantly, Rei looked up at Kageri. "Aren't you on the same boat as me then, Kuonji-sama?"

"Yes, I am… and that day will eventually come." Kageri looked away with sadness and regret evidently in his eyes.

Everything in the room was silent for a minute before the ESP finally spoke up.

"I am planning to have Mikan enter Gakuen Alice officially in a few weeks."

"But… but Azumi Yuka and Yukihira Kazumi are on the lookout for Mikan right now! Wouldn't placing her in the spotlight make Mikan realize that we are her enemies?" Rei was in a panic, he didn't want Mikan hate him.

"Yes, but… we have kept Mikan to ourselves long enough. It's about time we let her see the world for herself as her real self, even Hii agrees with me. Yukihira and Yuka are already suspicious of me anyways. And most important of all, it's time to set my plan going and end this once and for all."

Rei nodded numbly as his eyes scroll through Mikan's information once more before pulling out a lighter from his pocket and set the papers on fire. His gloves were fire-resistant and when the papers burnt to its last inches, his hand was perfectly safe and all that was left was a pile of ashes.

* * *

**A few days later…**

During these few days, Mikan can tell that something is bothering her beloved Rei, so she decided to read his mind and realized he now knows she is his sensei's daughter and he is confused. She knew this dilemma would happen sooner or later, but she decided that a few days of thinking and avoiding her is enough. She was going to get through to him without giving any hints that indicates she knew he accidentally killed her otousan. So she is going to invite him to stay the night and tells him she knows something is bothering him and how he has been avoiding her a little. Although Rei has his own living quarters over in the Northern Forest, where a lot of the DA stuff takes place, he basically still lives with Mikan.

"Are you going to be staying the night tonight?" Mikan asked with a tilt of her head as she stood up from her office chair and closed the file in her hands.

"Maybe, but I have to give the mission briefing and wait for Kuro Neko and Black Voodoo (Amane Rui) to come back first," Rei replied as he began to put his mask back on, which is taken off every time he enters Mikan's suite.

"Hm… I guess you will be back around… one in the morning?" Mikan questioned after glancing at the clock on her desk.

"I think so. Why?"

"Because we will have a late night… 'dinner'?" Mikan said with a shy smile. "Any preference?"

"I guess something light?" Rei replied distractedly, his mind seemed to be on something.

Mikan mentally sighed. '_He is still worrying about that. Well, not a problem, I will just have to help him along to make a decision,_' Mikan thought as she said outwardly, "Alright." Then out of nowhere, she appeared behind Rei, but he was still too distracted to notice. Mikan subtly snaked her hands around him and climbed up. Her arms were now around his neck with her legs around his waist and her head was beside his, but he was still out of it. '_My, he must be really distracted._'

Then she whispered teasingly into his ear, "You know, you really shouldn't go out like this." At the sound of her voice so close to him, he was visibly surprised even with his mask on and did a double take, which was so unlike him.

"Are you okay?" Mikan asked softly with worry evident in her voice.

"Yeah, I am fine. I am just a little… tired," Rei partially lied with a slight pause. He was tired, but that wasn't all that bothered him.

"Liar. It's okay to tell me, you know. But if you don't want to, then just tell me so. You will only make me worry if you lie like that," Mikan said with a small frown, but there wasn't a single hint of accusation in her voice.

"I am sorry," Rei apologized sincerely as he turned his head a little then adjusted Mikan so that they were facing each other. Mikan immediately took off his mask so that she could see him better. He planted a light and soft kiss on her forehead and whispered, "It's just something that I need to figure out on my own."

"I understand, but I will _**always**_ be here for you, okay?" Mikan said with a small smile, but she could clearly see that her 'promise' is bothering him and his eyes showed the sadness that he was clearly feeling before he quickly turned his head away a split second later.

"Don't give me the hope that I don't deserve," Rei said quietly with despair evident in his voice.

Mikan released one of her hands around his neck and took hold of his chin, turning it back so that she was staring into his eyes. He tried looking away, but found that he couldn't, he was trapped under Mikan's commanding stare.

"What in the world are you talking about," Mikan asked, even though she already knew what he was thinking. "I was never a hope giver and I never will be. I say what I mean and I mean what I say."

'_How wrong you are, dear Mi-chan. You yourself is hope, you are the only hope in the darkness that I am in. Without you, I don't know what I will do,_' Rei thought to himself. "Things change… and nothing is always the same."

"Yeah, like how from my caretaker, you became one of my most important and loved person in my life. And you will always stay that way!" Mikan stated with a sincere smile.

'_That's impossible, I will be your most hated person… and I don't want that._' Rei's eyes had even more despair and gloominess to his aura. But unless you knew him well like Mikan did, you won't be able to tell a difference in his carefully trained face. Unknown to Rei, Mikan was reading his mind.

"Rei? What is happening to you? Why do you doubt my words? You will forever be one of my most beloved. You won't lose me, we have been through too much already." Mikan released the hold she had on his chin and re-wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself so that she can rest her head against the crook of his neck.

She would feel her words sinking into his mind and him tensing slightly.

"Rei, nothing can ever come between us," Mikan promised and inside, she swore to herself to always make sure that the promise will stand forever.

'_But how would she react when she learns that I am her father's killer… even I can't forgive myself. Why would she forgive me,_' Rei contemplated bitterly. _'But I can't lose her… she is too precious to me. To have her hate me is worse than any torture or death._'

"Rei, it's time for you to go. Your training with Kuro Neko is in ten minutes. Do you want me to help you put on your disguise?" Mikan offered, moving away from the gloomy topic.

"Sure. That would be very helpful," Rei said as he started walking towards Mikan's bedroom and Mikan opened the door with one of her Alices. Rei set her down on her bed while he walked towards her vanity set and sat down on the chair in front of the set. Mikan walked over as well and opened one of the drawers that were used solely for Persona's disguises even though this was her room.

Expertly, Mikan put on the make-up for Persona's disguise and the control devices that he needed (well he doesn't really need it since he has the help of Mikan's nullification power with him all the time, but he needs them for show most of the time and to prevent anything bad if his emotions go out of hand.)

"There, the finishing touch!" Mikan declared with a smile as she placed Persona's signature white mask on. This one came from the stack that she had in that drawer, the other one he had earlier was left lying on the floor of Mikan's study where she dropped it.

"Arigato," Persona said softly as he snapped back into focus at the sound of Mikan's voice. Mikan required him to take off his mask and remove all traces of his disguise when he steps within her suite or else she will not let him in. He once asked her why he needs to do that and she replied, "The person that I want to see and be with is dear Rei, not the one that is known as Persona. I want to see you with you handsome and charming face, without any traces of you hiding from me. You are you and Persona is Persona."

What she said had struck his heart and made him blush slightly. The one that she loves and wants to be with is him and only the real him, she didn't need him strong or reliable, as long as he is being himself.

This is what he loved most about her, accepting of whoever you are, as long as you are truthful with how you are being, and you have no need to hold up a pretense in front of her.

"Time for you to go then. Five minutes left," Mikan said as she held out a hand for Persona to take. Persona knowingly took her hand and she pulled him into a hug. "If you get distracted tonight like you keep doing these few days and you get hurt, I won't speak to you for a week, okay?" she whispered firmly into his ear.

He tensed slightly when he heard her threat. _'She definitely knows how to torture me…'_ Persona just nodded, showing he understood her threat and knew that she would carry out what she meant, she always did.

"I am glad that you understand," Mikan said innocently with a sweet smile and pulled back.

'_She really can be a devil hiding in an angel's body,_' Persona thought, suppressing a shiver.

"Time to go! Don't be distracted!" Mikan warned and with a flash of light, Persona found himself standing in the Northern Forest's training grounds.

"So like her," Persona muttered fondly, he then jumped into the shadows, waiting for Kuro Neko's arrival as patiently as he could. He couldn't wait until he goes back, knowing that his most prized person is going to be waiting for him with a meal. He loves every moment that he spends with her, just being in her presence soothes him.

"That damn Kuro Neko better not be late," Persona muttered threateningly under his breath and he sensed a presence approaching just as he finished. '_Damn, I am really getting distracted,_' he thought, the presence was pretty close to the training grounds already. _'I better stay focus._'

"Welcome, Kuro Neko," Persona said with his Persona personality. [**A/N:** weird words together]

Said Kuro Neko just raised an eyebrow and stayed silent. He couldn't place his fingers on it, but something was different about Persona the past few days, especially today. Today, he seems impatient and anxious.

"Well then, let's start training then and you have a mission tonight. You **only** have two hours to finish it and if you don't…" Persona sounded especially menacing in the end and he fixed Natsume with a glare that promised him a painful consequence if he took even a millisecond longer than two hours.

'_I think I will do everything in my power to make it under two hours…_' Kuro Neko thought with a slight shiver. "Understood," Natsume said without showing that Persona's threat affected him at all. He normally wouldn't reply at all, but Persona doesn't need to be ticked off anymore than he already is.

"Good, then let's start," Persona announced with a devious smirk.

* * *

**A week or so later… in the HSP's office…**

"Oh? How interesting," Kazumi remarked as he read over the new report that was just handed to him.

"What are you talking about, Kazumi-san?" a silky brown-haired woman questioned as she looked up from the newspaper she was reading in the HSP's office. The HSP's place was well-protected so it was no problem for her to be lying around so casually while Shiki was at the Hanahime Den.

"It seems that Persona has found a new potential student for our gakuen during one of his mission," Kazumi replied as he continued reading through the new student's profile, getting more and more interested by the second.

"A new student in high school? That's rare. Usually, all possible Alice students come in or leave by middle school." Yuka looked up from her newspaper and folded it. She got up from her position on the couch and began walking over to the HSP.

Kazumi nodded. "What's more interesting is that this student is from Kyoto and her name is…" Kazumi paused and looked up to meet Yuka's eyes before continuing, "…Sakura Mikan."

* * *

**Few days later… in front of the HSP's office…**

_Knock. Knock._

"Come in," Kazumi called out and the doors to his office opened. A black, spiky haired man dressed in all black with a white mask entered with a brown slash blonde haired girl. The petite girl was wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt that reached her knees with a pair of dark blue short shorts and black flip-flops. Her hair was naturally curly at its tips and it reached her lower back (which was grown out at the insistence of the MSP). She was also wearing a necklace with a key-shaped charm, some bangles, and two anklets on her right ankle. She was holding onto a 20 inched stuffed bear with her left hand and held onto Rei's hand with her right hand.

"Greetings, Yukihira-kouchou," Rei greeted as he closed the door to the office.

Kazumi raised an eyebrow at the linked hands, but responded back nonetheless, "Greetings as well, Persona. It's rare that you would personally escort a student into the gakuen. It seems that she is very attached to you as well."

"Hai, that's true. But she was a special case. Ever since I found her, she didn't let go of my hand unless it was a necessity," Rei lied smoothly and Mikan giggled inside.

"I see. Can you introduce me to her then, Persona?" Kazumi found that excuse hard to buy since Persona was not exactly a fluffy looking teddy bear like the one Mikan was holding.

"My pleasure. This is Sakura Mikan, age 16 and she is from Kyoto. She is the holder of the Alice of Nullification, Teleportation, Insertion, Copying and Stealing," Rei introduced and then gestured towards the HSP. "That person is the high school principal of Gakuen Alice and his name is Yukihira Kazumi. You may call him Yukihira-kouchou and he is going to be your principal until you graduate."

"You have five Alices, Sakura-san?" Kazumi questioned with masked surprise, even though he has already read that Mikan was a multi-Alice user, it still came as a surprise when he learned that Mikan inherited all of her parents' Alices and had one original Alice, the Copying Alice. She was practically the perfect weapon.

Mikan meekly nodded.

"I forgot to mention, she has xenophobia, the fear of strangers, so please excuse her for her rudeness," Persona said with a nearly unnoticeable softness in his eyes and voice, but it didn't escape the attention of anyone in the room.

"Is that so? Where did you find her, Persona?" Kazumi asked curiously.

"In an orphanage near Kyoto, Yukihira-kouchou. It might be because of that that she developed xenophobia."

"I understand. We will introduce her to the class tomorrow and for now, can you please bring her to the dorm and show her around? She will be living in a three-star dorm for now, we will decide on her star ranking at a later time."

"Understood, but just a piece of information. To avoid any unnecessary commotion about her or causing her xenophobia to get worse, her information will be placed under highly classified and she will only be mentioned as the wielder of the Nullification and Teleportation Alice. Also, she will be in the Special Ability and the Dangerous Ability class," Rei said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Kazumi nodded reluctantly, knowing this was the best for his niece.

Mikan gave a small parting wave and a soft smile before leaving the room with Rei and Kazumi returned the wave as the door closed.

"What a troubling situation this is, I should inform Yuka-san about the new information… She will want to know, after all, it is her daughter we are talking about."

* * *

**With Mikan and Rei…**

"So… let's give you a tour of this place, shall we?" Rei said sarcastically as he led Mikan towards the black Mercedes that was waiting for them this entire time, there was no way Persona was riding one of those older cars that they use willingly.

"Oh yes, I would love that, _Persona-sensei!_" Mikan squealed like a school girl with equal sarcasm. Her shy exterior dropped now that she was with someone she was very familiar with.

Rei rolled his eyes. "Come on, I am going to have to pretend to give you a tour. Which is really a waste of time, since you know this gakuen's layout better than anyone."

"Hai hai~ Let's go then," Mikan said as she entered the Mercedes with Rei.

* * *

**The next morning…**

"Are you Sakura Mikan?" a blond man questioned with a big heartwarming smile. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and black slacks with a simple string necklace.

Mikan looked up from where she was sitting with a book and her teddy bear in her arm. She had been reading a new book while waiting for her homeroom teacher, Narumi Anjo, in a waiting room of the Senior Division's office section, where the HSP's office was as well.

Mikan's hold on the teddy bear tightened as she closed her book, marking it with a bookmark, and nodded, avoiding any eye contact with Narumi.

"Watashi wa Narumi Anjo desu, I am your class's homeroom teacher, but I am also the Japanese teacher. It is nice to meet you, Mikan-chan!" Narumi said with clear enthusiasm, he finally got to meet the daughter of his beloved Yuka, even if it is a child of another man, he didn't mind, especially since Izumi-sensei was his favorite sensei.

Mikan nodded once again and gave Narumi a small timid smile.

"You are very shy, aren't you, Mikan-chan? I heard that you have xenophobia?" Narumi asked as he recalled the information he was given by the HSP.

Mikan finally spoke quietly, "Oui."

"Oh? You speak French, Mikan?" Narumi was surprised, the information didn't say anything about Mikan being able to speak anything other than Japanese.

"Oui."

"Well then… why don't we go to class now, Mikan-chan? It's almost time for class to start." Narumi would usually be leaving his class to the substitute, but now that Mikan was attending the gakuen, he will probably be teaching a lot more. '_Fukutan-chan will probably thank me for that._'

Mikan nodded and held out her hand for Narumi to take. She said quietly in Japanese, "Let's use my Alice to get there, Narumi-sensei…"

Narumi seemed to be thinking about that for a second before nodding with a big smile. "Let's go then, Mikan-chan!"

Within seconds, they were in front of the classroom. There was only one class in the senior high division since the entire school only has about 200 students in total and each class has around 30-40 students.

"Well then, can you please wait out here until I call you in, Mikan-chan?" Narumi requested with a kind smile.

Mikan nodded and Narumi turned to go, but was held back by a hand clutching his shirt. Narumi turned back and found Mikan looking at him with a really beautiful smile.

Mikan hesitantly pulled Narumi into a hug and whispered, "Arigato gozaimasu, Narumi-sensei."

Mikan wanted to thank Narumi personally for taking good care of the students and for helping her okaasan.

"Dou itashimashite, Mikan-chan," Narumi said back as he gave a hug to Mikan as well.

"Please only tell the class I have the Alices of nullification and teleportation. You can also mention that I have xenophobia. I will have a nullification barrier around you and me as well, okay, Narumi-sensei?"

"Alright. No problem, Mikan-chan. Anything for you," Narumi said, the last part having a double meaning.

Mikan released Narumi and Narumi gave Mikan a parting smile before opening the door to the class.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, my dear students," Narumi said with a bigger than usual smile on his face.

Unlike other days, the entire class was silent because they would rather behave than suffer the dreaded Narumi Pheromone attack and also because they were already high school students, so they were now much more mature.

"We are going to have a new student today!" Narumi announced with a big smile as the class began to buzz and on cue, Mikan stepped into the classroom. She was dressed in the high school uniform, but instead of wearing the custom skirts, she was wearing a pair of black short shorts, they were after all, what she usually wears. Plus, when she requested to wear shorts instead of skirts to the HSP through Rei last night, he didn't object, so it was fine. In her arms was the stuffed teddy bear she has been holding this entire time and the book that she was reading.

"This is Sakura Mikan, your new friend. Please be nice to her, everyone!"

* * *

**[Notes]—**

By the way, Persona means "actor's mask" in Latin, just thought you should know. :)

I try not to have too much description about the people because a) I'm not the best at them. b) I'm sure you guys prefer the story over descriptions. But some I just want to include them or it's a necessity.

The reason that Mikan settles in a three-star room right away is because she has five Alices. So no matter what, she will be a three-star at least.

Mikan is using Sakura Mikan as her name instead of Reiji Mikan is because after looking it up, she found out that her last name from back then was Sakura and the person who adopted her aka Mikan's grandfather has Sakura as his last name, so to keep it more consistent, they decided to use Sakura Mikan instead.

Class B from Gakuen Alice manga has like 37 students before the others graduated, I counted it from Vol. 13 of the manga. There's two classes in elementary division, but I am guessing there's only one in junior high and one in senior high. And it's common to have that many students in one class in Asia schools, I believe, coz I know Hong Kong and Japan are like that.

If I have incorrect spelling on the Japanese, inform me. I am not always right coz I don't know a lot of Japanese (I only know a few phrases and such), but I do my research and look them up to try to get them all right. :) I really wanna learn Japanese in the future.

* * *

**A/N:** And it's done... I don't have a preview of the next chapter for you yet coz I am still in the middle of writing it. I probably won't be updating again until **4/14/11**, just saying. 4/14 is a special day by the way, and anyone who finds out why it's so special gets the next chapter dedicated to them. Another reason why I am not updating till 4/14 is coz I have gotta work on my other fanfic as well, so yeah... I don't want to end up in the hospital by the hands of my best friend. ;P

Next chapter will be about Mikan's first few days, including a Northern Forest challenge, :) Mikan's classmates are gonna be soooo surprised. :)  
I was gonna update next Friday, but then I am afraid I won't have a chapter on 4/14 to release and I realized that the next chapter will be more suited for 4/14.

Until next time then, everyone! :) Best wishes to you and the people of Japan,  
~Zenophobiaz

Published: 3/25/11

Edited: 9/20/11


	11. Chapter 11: The New Mystery

**A/N:** Special thanks to: Iris Butterfly, Ellixx, Date, dArK-wItCh27, Akatsuki Utaou, Haru Shikimotoroshi, and LuckTurtle for reviewing my last chapter. Thanks to everyone else who placed this story on story alerts, favorites or even read this. :D It makes me feel happy.

Well, concerning the question about why 4/14 is special, **yes it is a birthday**, but it's not my birthday. Hint: that person is from this story. :)  
But yeah, I decided to update today... coz 1) I had this chapter written pretty quickly and in fact, I kept writing so much that I am on chapter 13 now. :P 2) I just couldn't resist updating on April Fool's Day. XD Spring break just started today, so hurray for me. :D More time for me to write, but gosh... I gotta work on my other story... -_-

* * *

**Reply to reviews I couldn't reply to:**

**Haru Shikamotoroshi** : haha. I thought about that, but then I also thought a way around that, so it's still gonna be interesting. And I am not gonna spoil anything, so you will just have to wait and see what I did. :D But I thing I say is, I won't have Mikan be introduced to people that she won't see again in the future. :) Haha. Of course you can adore stories, who ever said you can't? But thank you so much for reviewing and reading this story. I will definitely be working on this story. :D

**Date:** Yup. It's a birthday. :D But who's birthday?

* * *

**[Notes] –**

"**Text like this**" means the words are said or displayed in French.

""Text like this"" means that Ruka is translating the words Mikan displays via the monitor.

"Je m'appelle [blank]. J'ai [blank] an(s)" = my name is [blank]. I am [blank] years old. (_"Je m'appelle Mikan Sakura. J'ai seize ans." _–Mikan) For that I put Mikan's name first name, last name because that's the European slash American way of putting their name order.

"[blank]-kouchou" = "Principal [blank]"  
Hai = yes  
Gomen = Sorry (informal)  
Daijoubu = It's alright slash it's okay.  
Kuro Neko = black cat  
Sensei = teacher  
Monsieur = mister  
Gakuen = school  
Baka = idiot or stupid  
Merci = Thank you  
"Konnichiha, minna-san." = "Konnichiha" is good afternoon slash hello and "minna-san" is everyone.  
"Ohayou" is the informal version of "good morning" while "ohayou gozaimasu" is the formal version of "good morning."  
Bonjour = "Hello" and/or "good morning"  
Kouhai = underclassman  
Senpai = upperclassman

Anyways, I bring you Chapter 11 of Light in the Darkness. :D Enjoy~

* * *

**Chapter 11 – The New Mystery**

* * *

"_**This is Sakura Mikan, your new friend. Please be nice to her, everyone!"**_

Mikan surveyed the room discreetly and immediately located the people she pays extra attention to. '_I see that Hyuuga is being a good boy and attending class. Imai-san is busy inventing as usual. I wonder whether Yukihira-kouchou told her to keep an eye on me or not…_'

"Can you please tell the class a little about yourself, Mikan-chan?" Narumi asked with more affection in his voice than usual.

Mikan shyly nodded as her clutch on her teddy bear tightened. What she said next surprised everyone. "**Je m'appelle Mikan Sakura. J'ai seize ans.**"

'_HUH?_' is what appeared in everyone's head except for three people. One was Hotaru who knew what Mikan was saying since she learned French because of how many business partners she had from France and it would make life easier if she was sure she wasn't being cheated, she could have just invented a translator but it was always better to have an extra language skill. Another was Natsume who wasn't really paying attention to the new student since he was so focused on reading his manga. The last was Ruka who was so surprised at hearing the familiar tongue he hasn't heard in so long.

'_Is she from France or is she an exchange student?_' Ruka thought as he absent-mindedly stroked his rabbit's fur and studied the new student closely.

Narumi sweat-dropped at Mikan's use of foreign tongue which really confused most of his students.

A blond, spiky haired student raised his hand instead of just saying what he wants without permission like he usually does.

Narumi's eyebrow rose at the student's unusual politeness. "Hai, Koko?"

"Naru… what is she saying? These people's thoughts are bombarding me!" Koko complained with a twitch at the overflowing thoughts. He could "deactivate" his Alice, but he still wanted to listen to everyone's thoughts along with a certain sensei's and new student's.

"Shouldn't you be wearing your limitation bracelet then? That's what it's for after all, Koko-kun." Narumi gave a chiding look to Koko.

Koko had on a sheepish smile. "Well, I heard that there was a new student today, so I decide to leave my bracelet behind."

"Well then, not such a bright idea now, right?"

Koko let out a chuckle. "Probably. But what is she saying, Naru? How come I can't read both of you guys' mind either?"

Narumi was about to say something, but a tug on his shirt stopped him. Narumi looked down and met Mikan's eyes. "Hai?"

Mikan pointed at Ruka and when Narumi looked at where Mikan was pointing at, he understood what Mikan was hinting at. Narumi didn't know how she knew, but he decided to ask her later. Narumi knew she could speak Japanese perfectly fine, but since she probably has a reason, he decided to just let her lead the ruse on.

Ruka was of course surprised once more by Mikan's actions.

"Ah, yes. Ruka-kun," Narumi called out, caching Ruka's eyes.

"Hai?" Ruka asked unsurely.

"You can still speak French, right?" At Ruka's nod, Narumi continued. "Can you please translate for us then?"

At the sudden involvement of his best friend, Natsume looked up and finally took a good look at the new student.

'_Is she still a child or something? A high school student who's still holding a teddy bear with her, what a child._' Natsume scoffed at Mikan silently. '_And why is she wearing shorts instead of the usual skirt?_'

Feeling someone's stare, Mikan timidly met Natsume's eyes, but there was a challenging gleam in there.

Not noticing his best friend's staring contest with the new student, Ruka replied, "She said that her name is Sakura Mikan and she is sixteen years old."

Not that the confusion was cleared up, the chatter of the students began and no one but Narumi and Hotaru noticed the still ongoing staring contest.

Narumi sweat-dropped and Hotaru can't help but feel intrigued by this new student. She knew it wasn't normal for a new student to enroll during their high school years and what was even more intriguing for Hotaru was that when she tried to hack into the school's database to find more information about the new student, not only was she unable to hack into the new student's file no matter how hard she tried, but she also got several messy viruses in return.

To call the class back into attention, Narumi clapped his hands. "Alright, alright. Let's quiet down."

Everyone instantly quieted down and looked up expectantly at their teacher.

Koko raised his hand once more.

'_Why is Koko being so respectful? Although I am grateful. Maybe I should have a nullification barrier around me more often,_' Narumi thought with amusement. "Hai, Koko?"

"You still haven't told us what Sakura-san's Alice is, Naru," Koko reminded as most of the class nodded in agreement.

"Ah, that's right. Gomen gomen, Mikan-chan's _**Alices**_ are nullification and teleportation," Narumi explained, surprising his students. The class began whispering about the rare multi-Alice user.

"Naru? What's nullification?" Koko asked. No one in the class has heard of that Alice before, not even Hotaru, so they were all waiting for Naru's answer. But in the back of Natsume and Sumire's mind, a warning bell rang as they remembered a snippet of information from their memory.

_**Reo turned to face Sumire. "You are… a "nullification"…?"**_

'_A "nullification"? Is this what Reo was talking about? But where did Reo base that question from?_' Natsume thought as he remembered the kidnapping incident from six years ago.

'_Is this the Alice that Reo thought I have? But I have never even heard of it until today!_' Sumire thought as she had a similar flashback as well.

"The Alice of nullification allows the user to cancel out _any_ use of Alice. So for example, I can't use my Alice on Mikan-chan since she would be canceling out my Alice and won't be affected at all."

The entire class wished they had her Alice.

'_Okay, since nullification is barely noticeable, I would understand her Alice not being discovered, but teleportation is a fairly noticeable Alice, so how come she wasn't enrolled until now? And those two Alices don't need to be placed under highly classified,_' Hotaru thought to herself and Natsume thought similarly as well, but he was in the dark about the highly classified part.

"Mikan-chan," Narumi called out, finally breaking the staring contest between Mikan and Natsume.

Mikan looked up to meet Narumi's eyes, silently asking him what he wanted.

"I need to give you a seat and a partner to show you the ropes," Narumi informed.

Mikan nodded as her hold on her bear tightened once more.

"Daijoubu. Don't worry, Mikan-chan," Narumi reassured with a friendly smile and gently placed a hand on Mikan's shoulder. Mikan gave Narumi a small smile that lit up hearts in the eyes of most of the boys in the class.

"Now... who should be Mikan-chan's partner?" Narumi pondered out loud as he searched around the room. "And where should Mikan-chan sit?"

Mikan tugged on Narumi's shirt once more before anyone raised their hand.

"Hai? Do you have any suggestions?" Narumi asked as he stopped his search and looked down.

Mikan pointed at one of the only empty seats in the room. It was by the window in the back of the room. Then she pointed at the black-haired, crimson-eyed lad sitting next to the empty seat.

"Oh? You want Natsume-kun as your partner?" Narumi thought that was really intriguing.

Mikan nodded as she spared a glance at Natsume, who raised his eyebrow at the girl's unusual request. Is she going to be another one of those fan girls like that green-haired girl? He doubted Narumi would allow that, right?

"Alright then. You will sit next to Natsume-kun and he will be your partner," Narumi announced and the class let out a sound of stupor.

Even Natsume, whose chair was on its two back feet landed his seat with a loud _thud_. '_WHAT?_'

"S-Sensei!" Sumire protested as she stood up from her seat. Even if she was curious, Sumire won't just stand back and let this happen. "Why did you let her choose her partner and seat just like that?"

"Why not, Sumire-chan?" Narumi asked innocently.

"You didn't ever let me sit with Natsume-kun!"

"That's unfortunate, Sumire-chan." Turning away from Sumire, Narumi clapped his hands together and as if nothing happened, he said with a big smile, "Now that we have settled this! I have to mention something. Mikan-chan has a case of xenophobia, which is the fear of strangers, so let's **all** be nice to Mikan-chan, alright?"

Sumire huffed and sat down reluctantly when her protest was ignored. She openly glared at Mikan and when Narumi mentioned Mikan's phobia, a smirk appeared on her face.

Narumi then added in a cold tone with a glare to everyone, "And no one, I mean, _no one_ will be taking advantage of that phobia. If _anyone_ does, then he or she will automatically get a suspension and their stars will be taken away. Understood?"

Everyone, except for Natsume, Hotaru, Ruka and Sumire, nodded their heads furiously. Sumire looked away when her eyes met with Narumi's.

In a complete turn of attitude, Narumi let out his usual easygoing smile and lightly placed his hand on Mikan's back, subtly pushing her towards the direction of her seat.

Mikan nodded and before anyone could comprehend it, she teleported herself to her seat.

Narumi blanked several times before he retracted his hand, which was now touching thin air, and let out a chuckle. "I guess Mikan-chan likes to use her Alice a lot."

A small tint of red appeared on Mikan's cheek as she turned to face the window, looking away from Natsume.

Narumi let out another chuckle. "Well then, off I go~ Homeroom's almost over~ See you guys later!"

With a parting wave, Narumi bounced out of the classroom in a childish manner.

After Narumi left, Mikan began to survey the outside carefully, easily making out the well hidden form of a certain black-clothed man. "_How nice of you to be my bodyguard, Rei._"

'_Why did you want to sit next to Kuro Neko?_' Rei thought back with clear annoyance.

"_Why not?_" Mikan retorted back in a teasing voice.

Rei's eyes narrowed. '_Oh, I don't know, maybe because you are holding his sister captive?_'

Mikan rolled his eyes. "_Oh come on, be serious. As if he would suspect innocent old me._"

Rei scoffed. '_As if you are really innocent.'_

Mikan mentally stuck her tongue at him._ "So, were you lonely without me last night?"_

'_Very._'

Because they didn't want any unnecessary evidence to be left behind, Rei had to stay away from Mikan last night and Mikan stayed in her three-star room inside the girl's dorm last night.

"_I missed you too. Join me tonight?_" Mikan suggested in a hopeful tone as she continued to feel the stares of her classmate.

'_Would it be okay with Kuonji-sama?_'

"_I will take care of everything, meet me in my suite after dinner._" Mikan was satisfied and she registered that Jinno has entered her classroom.

'_And why can't we have dinner together while we are at it?_' Mikan could practically see and feel Rei's uncharacteristic pout.

Mikan let out a string of melodious giggle, which caught the rest of the class's attention and enchanted them all without Mikan knowing, even Jinno was enchanted.

'_I think they are wondering why you are giggling to yourself, Mikan_,' Rei inputted as he carefully observed the reaction of Kuro Neko and he didn't like what he saw at all. He knew that Mikan doesn't harbor any romantic interest for the Kuro Neko, but the Kuro Neko is definitely going to fall deep into the hole of love. What if Mikan began to return those feelings? What will he do then?

"_Rei… You are thinking too much again… Do you need me to come over there to whack your head?_" Mikan pointed out with a hint of threat in her voice.

A tint of red appeared on Rei's cheek at being caught red-handed. '_Th-There's no need for that. You are still in class. And I think Jinno is calling you._'

"_As if I care._" Mikan mentally rolled his eyes.

'_You're such a spoiled kid._'

"_And who are the ones that spoil me?_" Mikan was very amused.

'_Kuonji-sama and… me._' Rei gave up, he will never be able to win an argument against Mikan when she was being so stubborn and without a care.

"_Exactly,_" Mikan finished with a proud smile.

'_Whatever, I give up. You are a case of lost hope._'

"_And I am proud of it._" Mikan knows that Jinno was still calling for her attention, but talking with Rei was so much more fun.

'_You should answer Jinno already, I think he is ready to hit you with his Alice._'

"_As if that would hit me and as if you and Kage-otousan won't hurt him just for attempting to hit me._" Mikan sent him her giggle through telepathy. She didn't really want to be seen like a lunatic laughing to herself again.

'_Mikan… I think you are abusing our protection… Are you trying to get Jinno killed or something?_" Rei sweat-dropped at Mikan's carefree response.

"_Of course not, why would I do __**such**__ a horrible thing?_"

'_Maybe because you are a crazy woman on the loose who's also a devil in disguise?_' Rei suggested in a sarcastic yet serious voice.

"_Don't be a meany, Rei-__**chan**__. Plus, I am __**your**__ crazy woman on the loose._"

'_Point taken. Mikan… I _really_ don't want to dirty my hands right now._' Rei's eyes swept over Jinno's shaking body and the rest of the class, which was leaning as far away from Jinno as possible.

Natsume just didn't care, as if he didn't know an angry Jinno was nearing his seat. Ruka just picked up his own shaking rabbit and hid the rabbit in his arm. Hotaru took out her sleeping bag shelter, named "Wormy No. 1," that is resistant to practically everything and is very sturdily made, and hid in it.

"_Fine, fine. I will pay attention now._" Mikan reluctantly complied and turned away from the window, facing the red-colored face of her sensei. Pulling a medium-sized LCD monitor and a remote-like keyboard out of thin air (she actually teleported it), she had the floating monitor display in French, "**Are you the teacher? I apologize for being in a trance earlier. I enter that state every once in a while and ignore everything that goes on around me. I am truly sorry, monsieur.**"

To make it seem even more real, she slightly tilted her head forward in an apologetic manner.

"Do you not speak Japanese?" Jinno questioned as he realized he couldn't understand what was written.

Mikan shook her head.

"Do you understand it?"

Mikan nodded her head. The monitor read in French, "**I am just more used to speaking French.**"

Jinno was confused by what was displayed and turned to Ruka in a much calmer fashion than before. "Nogi, you understand what I assume is French, correct?"

Ruka knew where this was going, but nodded his head nonetheless.

"Then you will be assigned to Sakura Mikan as her partner as well. Now, can you please translate?" Jinno decided and kept in the back of his mind that he will be reporting all of this to the HSP later.

Ruka resignedly nodded and translated what was written.

"A trance? Is this a normal thing?" Jinno questioned with curiosity.

Mikan shrugged as Ruka translated from what was being displayed on the board. "I guess?"

"Have you had doctors check on you?" Jinno continued to inquire.

"No. Where would I get the money for that? Hospitals are quite pricy after all," Ruka translated as he absent-mindedly began petting his rabbit once more.

"I understand. I will set up an appointment for you with Dr. Imai Subaru, one of our best doctors at the Alice Hospital, this weekend. Please go there with Nogi-san as your translator," Jinno informed.

'_My oniisan, huh. I guess I will be following along as well,_' Hotaru, who has long exited her shelter, thought.

"Thank you," Ruka read as he inwardly groaned at the loss of free time with Natsume, but he had to admit he was fascinated with this new student as well, so he didn't really mind spending more time with the girl.

"You are welcome. Now let's begin class. We have delayed long enough as it is," Jinno announced as he walked back to the front of the classroom.

The class inwardly groaned, but sat up straighter anyways.

"_Nicely done, Mikan,_" Rei remarked, using a telepathy stone he's compatible with.

"_Of course. Stop wasting the stone now._"

'_But why didn't you just use one of your translating inventions? It would make all of this much easier._'

"Ah yes, but then that wouldn't be as fun now, would it?_"_

'_As always, Mikan, as always._'

* * *

**Later that day…**

"Sakura-san," Yamanouchi Shizune, the class's science teacher, called out as the bell that signaled the end of the period finished ringing. This was the class's second to last class of the day. Shizune was the science teacher for the high school and the middle school.

"Yes?" Ruka translated. He has been the translator for Mikan the entire day already. Although Mikan isn't that talkative, which Ruka is grateful for, Ruka was still tired from talking so much. '_Why do I have to be the only one besides Imai who understands French?_'

Mikan inwardly giggled at the tiredness of Ruka. She felt a tinge of pity for Ruka but it wasn't enough to make her stop this ruse.

"_You are enjoying this, aren't you?_" Rei sent via telepathy.

"_Of course_," Mikan replied with another internal giggle.

"I would like to remind you that you have your exams today after school. So please come to the teacher's lounge later," Shizune informed as she placed her teaching books into order.

"Eh? Yamanouchi-sensei, how come Sakura-chan has to take exams on her first day of school?" Anna asked with lucid curiosity.

Her seatmate and best friend, Nonoko, nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah. How come, Yamanouchi-sensei?"

"Because Mikan is a special case by coming into the high school and it is almost the end of the semester, meaning it's about time for finals. We need to know whether or not she is suited to take the finals, where she is at in her academics, and her star ranking."

"You mean she doesn't have her star ranking yet?" Sumire asked as the wheels in her head began rolling.

Mikan rolled her eyes, which only Hotaru, Ruka and Natsume noticed, and a message appeared on the monitor.

When Ruka read it, he let out a laugh.

Turning to 'her' Ruka-kun, Sumire asked, "Oh? Ruka-kun? You find it something to laugh at as well? I knew you were like me!

Hotaru's hand flew to her forehead. She muttered, "Baka."

Raising an eyebrow at his best friend, Natsume asked, "What does it say, Ruka?"

Ruka released another chuckle before replying. "She said, "Don't be an idiot, Permy. You have no chance at destroying my ranking.""

Natsume had on a smirk.

Sumire's cheeks colored in anger. "How dare you call me Permy and I'm not an idiot!"

""Then what am I seeing right now?"" Ruka read and the entire class broke into laughter when they couldn't hold it in anymore.

Sumire bristled with anger and embarrassment. Turning to Shizune, she said with a glare at Mikan. "When you consider this girl's star ranking, you should consider her personality as well."

"Yes, we definitely should," Shizune agreed and Sumire had on a satisfied smirk, but Shizune wasn't done. "After all, if we considered that when we gave you your ranking, you should have gotten a much lower one while Mikan will be getting a higher one since her honesty is very admirable."

Shizune had on a smirk as she left the classroom while the steam coming from Sumire's head became almost palpable.

"S-Sensei!" Sumire was livid, how can her teacher say such a thing?

Everyone's giggles and laughter became louder in volume while Sumire just stomped her feet once before sitting down with a huff.

"**What's the next class, Ruka-pyon?**" the monitor read in French.

"P-Pyon?" Ruka stuttered out with a blush.

Hotaru smirked at Ruka's new nickname, she likes the new girl already.

"**It suits you,**" a new message flashed.

"B-But!" Ruka protested.

"It suits you very well indeed, bunny boy," Hotaru added with the smirk staying in place.

Ruka bowed his head in defeat. If these two girls became friends, he feels like he would be in trouble. Ruka sighed and looked back up. "The next class is English with Sakurano Shūichi -sensei."

'_Shūichi -senpai, huh,_' Mikan thought. '_I haven't seen him for a while now since I have been preparing to enter the gakuen._'

"**Merci,**" the monitor read.

A moment later, the class's English teacher, Sakurano Shūichi, entered with a gentle smile and a text book in his arm. "Konnichiha, minna-san."

Tobita Yuu, who is the class's president even though he was one of the younger members of the class, led the reply. "Konnichiha, Sakurano-sensei."

One of the points emphasized in high school is to be courteous and well-mannered and usually, the class would have to stand up and do a bow while saying their greeting, but Shūichi had told them to not be so formal since he is only a few years older than them.

Shūichi nodded as his eyes searched the room for a particular new student. When his eyes met with that of a certain brunette, an amiable and affectionate smile appeared on his face. "I see that we have a new student. Sakura Mikan, is it?"

Mikan had on a similar smile with a sly twinkle in her eyes as she nodded. New words appeared on the monitor.

"It's nice to meet you, Sakurano-sensei," Ruka translated.

"Are you Sakura-san's translator, Nogi-kun?" Shūichi questioned with amusement.

"Hai, for now," Ruka answered with a nod.

"I see. Well then, let's start class, minna-san."

* * *

**The next day…**

"Mikan-chan~ Ohayou!" a certain blond sensei greeted cheerfully from behind Mikan.

Mikan turned around with a gentle smile and greeted back in a soft voice. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Narumi-sensei."

"Don't be so formal with me, Mikan-chan. I see that you still have you bear and is that a new book I see? Do you like to read, Mikan-chan?" Narumi was beside Mikan now. Today, he was in a white dress shirt with frills, black slacks, and a beanie hat. He has been toning down his outfits' flashiness for a while now at the insistence of Yukihira-kouchou and Yuka-senpai. Plus, he didn't want to scare Mikan.

Mikan nodded in affirmation. "You have sharp eyes, Narumi-sensei, but yeah, I really like to read."

"Where are you getting your books anyways?" Narumi questioned as he gestured for them to continue walking.

Mikan shrugged as she complied.

"How come you don't speak Japanese even though you are fully capable of doing so?" This question has been bugging Narumi for a while now.

"Because it's more fun this way and it's fun to talk in a language that practically no one understands," Mikan replied with a playful smile, looking up at Narumi as she did so.

Narumi sweat-dropped at his student's deviousness. "You know they will get mad at you when they find out you have been tricking them."

"Ah. But I only said that I am speaking French because I am more used to speaking it. So technically, I'm not tricking them, Narumi-sensei."

Narumi shook his head with a chuckle. "You are unbelievable."

"I will take that as a compliment," Mikan turned to look ahead with a smile.

"By the way, Mikan-chan, we have decided on your ranking.

"Oh?" Mikan looked back up.

"Hai. You will be a special star. You had perfect scores on all of your exams, Mikan-chan."

"Is that so?" Mikan subtly flashed a mocking smile towards the shadows where a certain person was hiding. The hidden figure rolled his eyes.

Narumi nodded. "I heard they are going to start training you to become part of the principal group."

"Huh. Who is the principal group and who is part of it?" Mikan already knew the answer and was dwelling on whether becoming a head principal will take up too much of her time.

"They are basically the ones that control everything, like executive leaders. The name principal was just something that the student body decided to call them though. The principals consist of the executive class and the advisory executive candidacy class. Not all of them have to be special star, but there are only a few special stars aka principals in the whole academy. They are the geniuses among geniuses and it's nothing that you can achieve through hard work… Everything wishes to be them. Right now, the executive principals are Imai Hotaru, Tobita Yuu, Nogi Ruka and Hyuuga Natsume although Natsume-kun was unwilling to become one."

Mikan nodded and remarked, "I see."

"We will have to have a test on your Alices soon to see how well you control your Alices. But judging by what I have seen, you are very used to your Alices. I am surprised you weren't sent to the gakuen sooner."

Mikan shrugged as she looked at the graying sky. "It's going to rain today, but by the afternoon, it should clear up."

"How do you know?"

"Intuition." Stopping in her steps, she turned to face Narumi. "Narumi-sensei."

Narumi halted as well. "Hai?"

"Can you please keep my star ranking a secret for now?"

Narumi's eyebrow rose. "How come?"

"It will be more interesting this way. I would like to prove myself worthy before letting the others know my star ranking." Mikan's eyes traveled to a nearby tree, where an almost-real looking bug was, and then to the nearby bushes. Her eyes twinkled with amusement.

Narumi nodded in understanding. "Alright then. I will pass this on to the rest of the teachers."

"Arigato, Narumi-sensei. Eh, it's almost time for class to start. You should head to the classroom soon as well. I will be going now." Mikan bowed in parting and began walking away from Narumi.

"See you in class then, Mikan-chan."

Turning around suddenly, Mikan added as an afterthought, "By the way, Narumi-sensei, you are aware that we have had an eavesdropper this entire time, correct? But don't worry, she didn't hear a single thing she wasn't supposed to.

Before Narumi could reply, Mikan vanished before his eyes.

Narumi turned to where he assumed Hotaru was hiding and called out, "Hotaru-chan, you should come out now. You have been discovered already."

Within a moment, Hotaru exited the bushes with an annoyed look in her eyes.

"You know, eavesdropping really isn't a good habit," Narumi chided as Hotaru approached him.

Hotaru rolled her eyes in response. "It would have been nice if I even heard a single thing."

"Oh?" Narumi didn't understand what she was saying.

"My bug wasn't working at all, so I came out here myself, but even with my most advance spying technology, I still couldn't catch a single thing," Hotaru explained as she glared at the spot where Mikan disappeared as if it was the one at fault.

"That's interesting. The infamous Hotaru-chan's technology didn't work on Mikan-chan, huh. The people would be in an uproar if they heard that," Narumi said teasingly.

"No one is to hear of this incident. If it gets out, I will most embarrassing pictures all over school and you will also wish you were dead. Understood?" Hotaru turned her glare to Narumi.

Cold sweat dotted Narumi's forehead, he knew Hotaru would make sure her threat was carried out. "H-Hai."

"I am glad we have reached an understanding. Now that we are done, I must get going. It wouldn't look good if a head principal is late to class." Out of nowhere, Hotaru's ducky scooter appeared and Hotaru got on. "I will see you later then, Narumi-sensei."

With that, Hotaru departed for the high school building.

'_Hotaru-chan sure is scary…_' Narumi thought as he watched Hotaru's figure disappear from his sight. His smile left his face and his expression tuned serious. '_But why didn't Hotaru's inventions work on Mikan-chan? Is it because of her nullification Alice or something else? And how was she able to realize Hotaru was spying on us? Either way, I should report this to Yukihira-kouchou._'

* * *

**Later… during lunch break…**

"Who do you think you are? Requesting Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun as your partner just like that? And you had the nerve to sit beside them too!" Sumire, who couldn't take it anymore, finally erupted like a volcano as soon as the lunch bell rung and their teacher left.

Mikan looked up from gathering her things with bored eyes. The monitor flashed and Ruka stopped his petting for a slight second to read what was shown.

""What are you talking about? Plus, I didn't request Ruka-pyon as my partner. Jinno-sensei decided that, not me,"" Ruka translated, cheeks reddening slightly as he read his own nickname.

"And you! You dare have the nerve to call Ruka-kun, Ruka-pyon, although I have to admit that's very cute and― Wait! What am I saying? Never mind, that's not the point. My point is you should show more respect to Natsume-kun and Ruka-kun!" Sumire was getting very aggravated by the new girl.

""Why would I do that? They are just normal people, are they not? I will treat them just as I treat everyone else."" Ruka found himself liking this girl more and more, he felt that she understood both Natsume and him.

"They are **NOT** normal! Natsume-kun has been a special star since elementary school and Ruka-kun has been a three star since elementary school and special star since middle school," Sumire pronounced proudly.

""Imai-san has been a special star since middle school as well, has she not?"" Ruka read and Hotaru narrowed her eyes at Mikan.

'_How does this girl know that? She definitely knows a lot more than she lets on,_' Hotaru thought, her suspicion towards the new girl growing. Natsume thought about that as well while the rest of the class just paid no attention to the deeper meaning to her words.

"Imai-san is a completely different case! She―" Sumire was interrupted.

"**How so?**" Mikan said in French.

Everyone, except Hotaru, turned to look at Ruka with expectant eyes and Ruka sweat-dropped.

"She said, "How so?"" Ruka answered the unasked question. As the monitor flashed with new words, Ruka translated as the words appeared. ""You are not making any sense, Shouda-san, you are contradicting yourself.""

Sumire's eyes flashed with fury. "What does a student without a star ranking like you know? Just because you have two Alices, it doesn't mean anything if you don't know how to use it well. You are just a new student, don't go thinking you are all that."

"**Where are you going with this?**" Mikan questioned in French with a gentle voice.

Without even being asked, Ruka repeated the question in Japanese.

"Since we still don't know your star ranking and even if we did, it doesn't matter, you must prove yourself to us."

Mikan nodded. "**Alright, that makes sense. What do you want me to do?"**

Ruka translated as he thought, '_Where is this going?_'

"You see the Northern Forest, right?" Sumire gestured towards the trees beyond the windows and Mikan nodded in affirmation. "Well then, you must go through the Northern Forest and enter the elementary school, retrieving a boy going by the name of Hijiri Youichi. You will not be allowed to use your teleportation Alice at all during this. Is that fair?"

Sumire ended with a smirk while Natsume glared at Sumire for bringing his treasured kouhai into this, but he didn't say anything, he was interested to see how this new student will do.

Mikan nodded and decided to let her monitor and Ruka do the talking once more.

""Alright, that's fair. Any time limits?"" Ruka was shocked. The new student is going to agree just like that? Doesn't she know the dangers lurking within the Northern forest? Also, how in the world is she going to bring Youichi back?

"By tomorrow morning and you can start at any time, but we must be able to observe you just in case you decide to use your Alice."

'_That's going to be a problem. Sumire will probably seek my help, but how can I make sure my inventions will work properly if it didn't work before?_' Uncertainty was creeping into the mind of Hotaru and she was rarely uncertain.

As if she knew what Hotaru was thinking, Mikan sent a reassuring wink to Hotaru that Hotaru caught.

"**Alright, I can agree to that. I will start after lunch ends. Would that be alright with you guys?**" Mikan said and Ruka promptly translated.

Sumire exchanged a look with one of Natsume's followers slash friends, Mochu, and her friends before nodding in acceptance and flashing Mikan a smirk. "Good luck, you will need it."

Mikan shrugged and disappeared from everyone's sight with her belongings, surprising most people.

The place that Mikan appeared at was where Narumi was. As Mikan thought, Narumi was sitting in the garden of the teacher's living quarters and having tea with a book in his hands.

"Narumi-sensei," Mikan softly called out.

Narumi looked up from his reading with a surprised look. "Oh, what a surprise, Mikan-chan. I would never expect you to be here."

"I was looking for you," Mikan informed with a shrug as she walked towards the empty seat opposite of Narumi's.

"Oh? Did something happen?" Narumi looked thoughtful as he carefully observed Mikan. It was as if Mikan knew exactly where to look for him, and maybe she did, but how?

"Hai. A chance has come for me to prove myself so I will be skipping the afternoon classes," Mikan replied nonchalantly as she sat down and helped herself to a cup of tea with the extra cup that Narumi brings in case of visitors like today.

"Oh? You seem relax, Mikan-chan. What's your challenge?" Narumi was definitely curious.

"I am supposed to go through the Northern Forest to the elementary school division and get Hijiri Youichi without the use of teleportation."

Narumi was in the middle of drinking his tea when he heard that so he can't help but spit out his tea and choke with Mikan easily dodging the liquid. After his coughing fit ended, he exclaimed in disbelief, "Then how in the world can you be so worry free?"

Mikan shrugged. "It's an easy task."

"What part of that is easy?" Narumi really wanted to grab hold of Mikan's shoulder and shake some sense into her.

"Um… everything?"

"You can't be serious!" Narumi felt like hitting his head against the wall.

"Do I look like I am not?" Mikan raised an eyebrow.

"That's the problem here!"

"Really?" Mikan sounded too innocent.

Narumi's hands went to his head and began rubbing his temples as an attempt to soothe his anxiety and the headache that was building up. "I can't believe you."

"Well, you should." Mikan rose up from her seat. "I should go get some lunch. After all, my challenge starts right after lunch. I just wanted to give you a head's up."

Without waiting for a reply, Mikan teleported away.

"Geez! I can't believe that girl! She's so reckless, just like her mother!" Narumi was worried, but he has something he must do first. To inform the high school principal of yet another thing.

* * *

**[Notes] –**

In the manga, Subaru, Shūichi and Shizune are all education trainees (in Mikan's class), so it's highly probably that they become teachers.

I realized Natsume's seat is like in the back and in the middle row, but to suit Mikan, I moved it to the row by the window. Plus, they are in high school now, so seats change.

* * *

Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and yeah... the Northern Forest challenge is next chapter. Next chapter is like entirely the Northern Forest challenge.

Dunno whether I will be updating next week or not, but I will definitely be updating on **4/13/11**, so you guys should keep on guessing. Akatsuki Utaou is beginning to guess pretty close. But no one is on the spot yet. :P

Happy April Fool's Day~! Any good pranks played on you?  
And I still wish the best for the people of Japan.

Until next time, best wishes always~  
Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 04/01/11  
**Edited:** 09/20/11


	12. Chapter 12: The Northern Forest

**A/N:** Special thanks to Iris Butterfly, Ellixx, i. sTILL. d0, Akatsuki Utaou, xenophopiic, Tearing Rain, Sigy Artyn, Haru Shikamotoroshi, GakuenDeath and Aura! :D You guys are all soo awesome~ :) Thanks to everyone else who added this story to the story alert and/or favorites list. I am impressed by the amount of reviews I got. :)

BUT~ TAH-DAH! Chapter 12 is here and it's all about the Northern Forest challenge! :) This came out pretty long... like 7000+ words. :P Oh well, it's worth it. This story is NOT actually 9000+ words! Plus, I decided to release this at 12am on 4/13 rather than 6-7pm on 4/13 since that's the name I was at first gonna post it at. That's the time I usually get home on Wednesdays... T_T I am sure most of you will appreciate that. :) It is an 18-19 hour difference... :D

So anyways, **this chapter is dedicated to: ****Akatsuki Utaou****! For being the only one who guessed whose birthday is on the 4/13~ This chapter is also dedicated to ****REI SERIO****! Happy birthday to Rei~~ I am just pretty obsess with him right now and he's so freaking awesome! :P**

Anyways, happy birthday to Rei and I hope you guys will enjoy this newest chapter! Enjoy~

I apologize in advance for any typos and grammar problems.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I don't know why I am doing this, but I will just have a disclaimer again. And no offence, but what's the point of the disclaimer when we all know I don't own it. I mean, isn't this why we have fanfiction(dot)net? For the people who **don't** own these things to be able to write their own fanfiction about it? :) That's just my view.

* * *

**Reply to reviews:**

**xenophopiic:** I love you name btw, ;) Thank you for reading this story and leaving a review~ Here's your update!

**Haru Shikamotoroshi:** Yeah, clawing the computer screen is not healthy at all. Eh, I stopped because I wanted to hang you readers over a cliff. :) Thank you so much for your praises, you are abosolutely awesome and I hope that you will enjoy this chapter~ I love mixing French with Japanese, lol. Ruka didn't become Mikan's original partner because I wanted to have one story where Mikan is the one who chooses Natsume as her own partner, plus, it will be more fun~ :P Natsume is a baka though. XD April Fools is sorta pretty much about playing pranks on people? I am not so sure... T_T I am soooo sorry for not being of help to you about bookmarks, I don't know much about making bookmarks... but i didn't get to reply coz I deleted the email that alerted me to a new review and I couldn't send you a reply through PM, so sorry~ I love your super long review and I must thank you a whole bunch for reading and reviewing my story! :)

**Aqua:** Haha, thank you so much! Here's your update~! Thanks for reading my story!

* * *

**[Notes]—**

"**Text like this**" means the words are said in French.

""Text like this"" means that Ruka is translating the words Mikan displays via the monitor.

"Bonjour" = "Hello" and/or "good morning"

"Pourquoi pas" = "why not"

"Mais je vais gagner" = "But I am going to win."

"A bientôt" = "See you later"

"Hai" = "yes"

"Gomen nasai" = "I am sorry" (formal-er than just "gomen".)

"Demo" = "but"

"-oneechan" = cuter way of saying big sister. 'Onee' is the big sister, but you usually have a honorific with that like most names, so you can have "oneesama", "oneesan", "oneechan" or even without the "o" and have it as "neechan" and etc.

"-niisan" = "big brother", same explanation as "oneechan"

"Kawaii" = "cute"

Bear is soo hard to write… T_T

* * *

**Chapter 12 – The Northern Forest**

* * *

Mikan was currently in her room changing into a black t-shirt. She thought about grabbing a box of Howaloons from the many that she had, but decided that she will just give it to Youichi later that night since he is probably going to be sleeping over. She glanced at the time. '_Five minutes before lunch ends._'

She ended up eating some ramen noodles in her Kage-otousan's office. Rei showed up a few minutes after she did and listened as she told the ESP about her challenge.

The ESP didn't have much to say and just told her to be careful.

'_I should go to the classroom now._'

Hotaru was the only one there when Mikan arrived.

When Hotaru glanced up at the feel of a new presence, Mikan nodded in greeting and headed to where Hotaru was seated. "**Bonjour, how come you are here already?**"

"I finished my lunch early, that's all," Hotaru replied as she stopped working on her latest invention.

Mikan's hold on her bear tightened as she said, "**I see, still fussing over your bugs that didn't work?**"

Hotaru narrowed her eyes in suspicion and annoyance. "Did you have something to do with that?"

"**Who knows?**" Mikan acted nonchalant, but inside she was fighting the sense of fear that wanted to keep her as a captive and never let go. When she talked with Sumire, it was the same thing, no matter how brave and confident she looked and sounded.

At the request of her Kage-otousan, she was not supposed to use any facades during her interaction with her classmates. The ESP felt it was time to work on lessening her xenophobia and by doing so, make her life easier in the future.

Mikan tossed a bag to Hotaru, who caught it by reflex.

"What's this?" Hotaru asked as she opened the bag.

"**This should help you keep track of me during my challenge.**"

Hotaru took out the bag's contents, revealing two round shaped objects with a camera and wings and a USB. "What are these?"

"**These two are golems that will follow me during my challenge and you can connect the USB to a computer and it will pull out a program that will allow you to monitor me through the two golems. The program along with the golems is called Azu by the way,**" Mikan explained as she began walking to her seat. Then from her pocket, she pulled out a bracelet. "**I will be wearing this bracelet and this bracelet corresponds with the Azu program and Azu golems, allowing them to find me no matter what. If I teleport, the golems have that ability too so it will still be able to follow me.**"

Hotaru looked shocked. "Is this invented by you?"

Mikan shrugged. "**Maybe. But that shouldn't matter. As a greeting gift, I will give you another version of Azu after this is done.**"

"Why?" Hotaru would love to have a copy of this.

"**No particular reason. But it will help your spying business, would it not? Also, these golems have the ability to become invisible at the click of a button.**"

Hotaru was definitely amazed by Azu. "Just who are you?"

Mikan didn't reply and silently walked to her seat. Picking up on approaching footsteps, she said in French, she threw a textbook from a random desk towards a hiding place. "**They are back. And Hyuuga-san, I would appreciate it if you stop eavesdropping on us.**"

Natsume, who had been hiding in the shadows, stepped out of the shadows with a nonchalant face, but from his wicked eyes, you can clearly see the shock present in him. He had a barely caught textbook clutched in his right hand while his left hand was in his pants pocket.

'_She definitely can't be underestimated,_' both Hotaru and Natsume thought as they made a note to observe Mikan more closely in the future.

Natsume didn't understand what Mikan said, but from the flying object that came his way, he realized he was discovered.

"How did you know I was there? Even Imai couldn't tell, just who are you really?" Natsume could tell something was amiss with the brunette and he could sense something familiar within this girl, but what is it?

"**Just a country girl from Kyoto,**" Mikan replied as she sat down in her seat and opened an unseen zipper on the back of her bear, taking out the book she placed in there.

Before Natsume could question what Mikan said, the classroom door opened and Sumire came in with the rest of the class.

"Oh? You are here already, new girl?" Sumire questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Mikan closed her book and looked up with a barely audible sigh from her reading. It was as if she has been reading this whole time.

"Imai-san, you have something we can use to observe her, right?" Sumire looked at Hotaru expectedly.

With a quick glance to Mikan and a nod of affirmation, Hotaru replied, "Yes. I have something." Picking up the golems, she continued, "This is a camera that has the ability to fly and using these two, we will be able to watch everything that goes on my laptop. I call this Azu and it is not on the market."

Mikan nodded approvingly, Hotaru had disclosed just the right amount of information and she did exactly what she wanted her to do, claiming that invention as hers.

"Alright." Sumire nodded in approval and turned to face Mikan.

"Shouda-san, I am not done. My service comes with a price," Hotaru reminded and Sumire turned back with irritation.

"How much?" Sumire questioned bluntly.

"500 rabbits."

Mikan rolled her eyes at the overly expensive price, but didn't say anything.

"Fine, I will pay you later. I don't have any money right now," Sumire relented with a huff, she knew that arguing with Hotaru is like arguing with a rock.

"Alright, but I will chase you down if you don't. Understood?" Hotaru promised with a cold smile.

Sumire nodded quickly.

"Good, I am glad you understand." Hotaru's eyes then turned to Mikan. "If you want to get back by nightfall, you should head out now, Sakura-san."

Mikan shrugged. Now that Ruka was here, she decided to use the monitor once more.

""I don't care, but I will head out now. I will be teleporting to the Northern Forest entrance and walk the rest of the way,"" Ruka translated.

"Hold on, I have another thing to add. If you lose this challenge, Ruka-kun will stop being your translator and partner, you will lose Natsume-kun as your partner, and you must sit somewhere else," Sumire listed with a confident smile.

"**Pourquoi pas**," Mikan replied with a shrug. "**Mais je vais gagner.**"

"I don't know what you said, but I will take that as a yes." Sumire rolled her eyes in annoyance. '_Just because she can speak Ruka-kun's native language, she thinks she's all that. Well, I will prove her wrong and she will wish she never crossed my path._'

Mikan, who was reading Sumire's mind, smiled with malicious intent inside while she had on an innocent smile on the surface. '_No… __**you**__ are going to be the one who will wish you never crossed my path._'

"**A bient****ô****t,**" Mikan said before teleporting away with the two Azu golems.

As soon as Hotaru realized Mikan left, she opened her already turned on laptop and plugged the Azu USB in. Within a few moments, an "Azu" logo appeared along with a symbol that composed of a pair of different colored wings, with the left wing black and the right one white, popped up, indicating the starting up of the program. When the program opened up a few seconds later, there were two monitor screens; one showed Mikan standing in front of the forest while the other showed Mikan's front side with the high school building as the background.

Mikan's eyes looked directly into the camera and with a wink, she headed into the Northern Forest.

Mikan was walking leisurely and she had her teddy bear in her arms still. It looked as though she's just taking a relaxing walk in a park instead of the dangerous forest the place really is. Mikan didn't look the least bit afraid or troubled by her surroundings, it was as if she knew her way around. And in truth, she did. The Northern Forest was like her backyard and second home, she spent many hours training in there and she knew the forest like the back of her hand, as well as the rest of the school's forests.

The students crowded around Hotaru's desk, even Natsume and Ruka were there. Of course, the two of them were seated in the seats next to Hotaru with the inventor in the middle while the rest of the class either levitated in the air, sat on the table behind Hotaru's row or stood. Everyone was interested in how the new student will fare.

When the bell for class rung, no one paid any attention to it and no one except for Natsume and Hotaru realized the teacher entering the room until he spoke.

"M-Minna-san…" an unsure voice called out and everyone turned to look at the source with an annoyed expression.

Sensing the students' hostility, Fukutan wanted to go hide in the deepest hold he can find, but still, he continued, "Na-Narumi-sensei told me to inform you guys that afternoon classes in the high school section will be canceled."

"Eh? How come?" the curious voice of Ogasawara Nonoko questioned. '_And I was looking forward to mixing up chemicals in science today too! Oh well… I guess watching Sakura-chan can be fun as well…_'

"Because you guys aren't the only ones who will be watching this challenge," a voice that the class hasn't heard in a while replied.

A sea of sparkles appeared in the eyes of Nonoko and Anna as the figure of their long-time crush stood by the doorway.

"Misaki-sensei!" the two chorused with their hands clutched in front of them in a prayer fashion.

Hotaru looked up from the monitor. Seeing her ability class's instructor here was an uncommon thing. "What do you mean, Misaki-sensei?"

"Every single teacher that doesn't have an afternoon class to teach will be going to the teacher's lounge to watch through Serina-sensei's Alice. Since we know that you guys will be too anxious to learn anything and you afternoon class's teachers want to watch as well, we decided to cancel class for the high school. It's possible that the classes of the middle school and the elementary division will be cancelled as well," Misaki-sensei explained while the rest of the class looked away from the screen to listen to their teacher.

'_That girl is getting so much attention,_" Hotaru thought as she looked back to the computer screen and watched as the mentioned girl made her way through the forest like a walk in the park.

"Well them, I will be going." Misaki-sensei turned around.

"You are watching as well, Misaki-sensei?" It was Koko who asked that.

"Of course. Who would want to miss this?" Misaki-sensei walked away as Fukutan raced to catch up with him.

Just as the class went back to watching, Mikan entered a clearing with a cabin in the middle of it. There was also a moving, brown-colored teddy bear chopping wood in front of the cabin.

'_It's Mr. Bear!_' Most of the class exclaimed in their mind. '_And how did she reach the cabin so quickly?_'

'_Although she seemed to be walking in a leisure pace, she was walking a direct path that led to the elementary division, but arriving at that bear's cabin, it's as if she deliberately headed towards this clearing. But how did she know where to go though?_' Natsume thought as he carefully studied every single one of Mikan's actions.

When they saw Bear look up from what he was doing, almost the entire class held in their breath with anxiousness and anticipation, bracing themselves for what they know was going to happen.

Mikan nodded in greeting and began walking towards the bear. Bear just dropped his axe and stayed in place. The class was confused. Why isn't the bear attacking Mikan?

When Mikan reached the Bear, she kneeled down on one knee and gently patted Bear's head in an affectionate manner.

The class's eyes widened with shock. Why isn't Bear attacking her or doing anything at all?

Mikan then picked up Bear and headed into the cabin. Once they were inside, Bear jumped off of Mikan's arms and headed to the kitchen area.

"Wow…" Anna muttered in amazement. "Bear's cabin can compare to a three-star room!"

"I totally agree," Nonoko nodded with astonishment. This was her first time seeing the inside of Bear's Cabin since everyone knew better than to approach the Northern Forest.

"Quiet," Hotaru commanded with a quick glare at her twin-like classmates, but even she has to admit the fact that the cabin is impressive, especially the many technology that she has never seen before.

Bear proceeded to serving Mikan some tea and cakes before sitting down opposite of Mikan.

"_So, how have you been, Bear?_" Mikan asked as she took a sip of her tea.

Bear shrugged. '_Are you attending school now, Miyuki?_'

"_Hai. I am in the high school division. Me being here is actually a challenge presented to me by my classmates. I am supposed to go through the Northern Forest and retrieve You-chan,_" Mikan told him with a giggle.

Bear's eyes were dancing with amusement. '_You are having fun, aren't you?_'

"_Of course._" Mikan began eating her cake. "_I am even pretending that I'm more used to speaking French so I have Ruka-pyon as my translator. I even got a seat next to Hyuuga and have the two "princes" as my partner._"

'_So like you, Miyu-chan,_' Bear remarked. He enjoyed listening to Mikan talking so animatedly, she seemed to be having a lot of fun and enjoying herself, which is all that he cared about. She brought this happiness to Kaname and him, so she deserves to have a change at this too.

Mikan continued chatting with Bear while finishing up her cake and when she was done, she stretched like a cat and exclaimed, "_Mmm… yummy, where do you get your cakes, Bear? I need to go get some myself._'

'_It's a secret. So the only place that you can eat it is here._' Bear rose up and Mikan picking up the plate and cup, bringing the chinaware to the dishwasher.

"_Hai, hai. Well, I should get going now. I will come see you again later._" Mikan got up and gave Bear a hug.

'_But you just go here!_' Bear protested, shaking his head against Mikan's t-shirt.

"_I wanna finish this before You-chan's classes end. I promise I will come back and I will even bring You-chan_" Mikan soothingly patted Bear's back.

'_You promise?_' Bear was like a child sometimes.

"_Hai, hai. Bye bye~_" Mikan then left the cabin and continued on her way to the elementary division.

The class can't believe what they had just witnessed.

"W-Was it just me… or did Sakura-san really had tea and cake at bear's place?" Koko asked in disbelief, rubbing his eyes as if to clear his vision.

"It's not just you, pal. Bear and Sakura even hugged each other…" Kitsu blinked his eyes owlishly.

"Did I miss something... or is the world ending?" Koko asked as he turned to look at his friend.

Kitsu turned to face his best friend. "The world is ending?"

In synchronicity, both their eyes widened and they ran around the classroom with their arms flailing about while shouting, "Ah! The world is ending! Save us all!" repeatedly.

Hotaru continued to twitch until she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled out her baka gun from under the table and shot at the two "idiots" with scarily accurate aim.

"Ouch! That hurt, Hotaru!" the two exclaimed, clutching their already forming bumps.

"Baka." Hotaru glared at the two. "Stay away from me. I don't want to be infected by you guys' idiotic germs. And who ever said you can call me Hotaru?"

* * *

**In the teacher's lounge…**

"Impressive, isn't she," Shūichi remarked and took a sip of the tea provided by Narumi.

"Indeed, Mr. Bear is known to attack anyone that came his way," Narumi agreed with a smile, but if you look deeper into his eyes, you can tell that he was watching everything closely and he was impressed. "It seems a little suspicious that Mr. Bear had tea with her instead, don't you think?"

'_Narumi really isn't as simple as some people think he is,_' Shūichi thought as he remembered his younger days when Yuka was still in school and the times he saw Narumi hanging out with Yuka. Looking up, he found Narumi studying him with his piercing blue orbs. Shūichi met Narumi's eyes and nodded. "Yes, I think so too."

"Sakurano-sensei, you know something that we all don't know, don't you?" Narumi's question was blunt and it was really more of a statement than a question, but his smile was still on his face and his eyes looked as if it were trying to penetrate into Shūichi's soul.

"Now, why would you say that, Narumi-sensei?" Shūichi raised his eyebrow inquisitively with a mysterious twinkle in his eyes.

"Intuition. But you didn't deny it, so I will assume I am on the right path." Narumi stopped his staring and looked into his tea with melancholy. When he spoke again, it seemed like he was talking to himself. "Mikan-chan allowed me to finally close up that hole that's been left behind by that woman."

"And I thought I was the one who had the Alice of intuition," Shūichi said with a wry smile. "But then I guess we are both partners-in-crime for keeping secrets from the others, aren't we?"

"I guess so."

And the two went back to watching Mikan from Serina's bigger than normal crystal ball which was some distance away.

The only people who heard this conversation were Shizune, Misaki-sensei, and a person hidden in the shadows since everyone else was too immersed in watching Mikan.

Rei let out a barely audible chuckle before walking away without anyone noticing he was ever there.

Even the principals were watching with their own methods. The ESP watched using a spare Azu USB provided by Mikan with the MSP in the Hanahime Den. They can't stand each other, but they will cope with each other to watch this. On the other hand, the HSP watched from a monitor that portrayed the happenings from Serina's Alice with the camera that Jinno had on. Yuka and Shiki were with the HSP in his locked office.

"Mikan is giving everyone quite a surprise, isn't she?" the MSP remarked with an amused smile.

Kuonji nodded silently.

"Can't you at least try to make this work, you disgusting man?" Hii gave Kuonji an annoyed look.

The ESP responded with a scowl. "What's the point of faking something that isn't necessary?"

Hii looked at the ESP with disdain. "Mikan would want us to get along."

The ESP glared at the MSP. "That will never be possible. The only person I will ever get along with is Mikan and the only reason that you and I even tolerate each other is Mikan."

"Please, be aware of your position right now. You are in _my_ territory and Mikan lives in _my_ territory. If I wanted, I can forever keep you and that kid of yours away from here, so know your place, you filthy man." Men will always be disgusting in her opinion, the only ones that she will allow close are Shiki and maybe that Youichi kid since he was raised by Mikan no kimi.

Kageri's glare strengthened and it looked as though he was trying to set the MSP on fire.

Hii just looked at him with a taunting smile and mocked, "Not all high and mighty now, are we?"

With one last glare, Kageri turned away with a scornful look.

* * *

**With Mikan…**

Mikan knew that the elementary division was close and she could predict how surprise Youichi will be when he sees her.

Within a few minutes, Mikan was at the border between the Northern Forest and the grounds of the elementary division.

'_Now… time to find You-chan's classroom…_' Mikan thought as she headed straight towards the wall outside of where she knew Youichi's class was. She looked up and with her x-ray Alice, she located where Youichi was sitting in the back of the room. '_Bingo!_'

Looking around, she found several places that she can use to get up. Like an experienced acrobat, she swung and jumped her way up until she was kneeling on the window ledge of Youichi's classroom.

Several students noticed Mikan outside the window already and began pointing her out to their friends, but Youichi was still too absorbed in his daydreaming to realize her presence.

'_And I thought I taught him better than that…_' Mikan thought to herself with a shake of her head. '_Let's see what he's thinking about._'

'_Hm… I wonder what I will do after school today… Go find Natsume-nii? Maybe… but I don't wanna seem so clingy… Go to Central Town to buy some Howaloons? But I am running out of rabbits because I keep eating those so much… Howaloons are so yummy though. Now I know why oneechan is so addicted to them. Oneechan… I miss her… and Aoi-nee as well, I guess…_' Now Youichi's expression turned wistful and sad.

'_Aw~~ You-chan is so kawaii! Now he can see me whenever he wants~_' Mikan thought with a giggle as her eyes glittered with joyfulness.

'_Eh? Did I just hear oneechan's giggle? No no… I am just being delusional…_' Youichi shook his head as an attempt to clear his head. '_But I sure do miss oneechan's smiles and giggles… It's been a month since I last saw her… what has she been up to?_'

When Youichi was five, Mikan decided that it was time to send him back for schooling at Gakuen Alice, where he was supposed to be before she decided to take him in, after three years of delaying it. Ever since then, Mikan would drop by every now and then to see him and hang out with him with the disguise of a stuffed bear or a living animal. Youichi knew he wasn't supposed to mention anything about his life before entering the school or about his oneechan, so he never told anyone about it or how he knew Mr. Bear.

With another giggle, Mikan knocked on the window and Youichi looked up with a cute confused expression. When Youichi saw Mikan, his expression of shock was so priceless for Mikan that she broke into a fit of giggles and fell back, looking as if she was falling to her death. The rest of Youichi's classmates who saw her fall entered into a state of shock before darting to the windows, but they had nothing to worry about. With a few back flips and a perfect landing, Mikan looked as though she never fell from a two-storied high place and was still in her laughing fit.

"ONEECHAN!" Youichi shouted out when he finally recovered to his senses and rushed to the window without a second thought, slamming open the windows in the process. "ONEECHAN!"

Quickly making her way up with a few chuckles along the way, Mikan was on the window ledge within seconds. She messed up Youichi's hair in an affectionate manner. "**Bonjour, You-chan~**"

Youichi pouted and tried to fix his hair. "You just appear out of nowhere, fall off from the window ledge and that's all you have to say?"

"**Was I supposed to be saying something else?**" Mikan tilted her head and had a finger on her chin.

Most of the class sweat dropped while Youichi rolled his eyes and said with sarcasm, "Oh, I don't know, maybe you are supposed to be so hurt that you should be going to the hospital?"

"**Really? You should know me better than that, You-chan,**" Mikan replied in French with another giggle. "Can you guys move out of the way so I can get in? You don't want me falling off again, do you?"

The class didn't understand what she was saying, making Mikan look at Youichi. With a sigh, Youichi translated what Mikan said. While Youichi was under the care of Mikan, Mikan decided to teach both Youichi and Aoi how to speak French and even after he entered the gakuen officially, he still continued to study French by himself, so Youichi understands what she says.

The class quickly cleared a path for her, they didn't want to die of shock. Mikan expertly jumped over the window sill with one hand on the ledge. Once she was over, she brushed off her hands before opening her arms in an inviting fashion. "**Now, come here.**"

Without another invitation, Youichi ran towards Mikan in such a quick speed that his classmates can feel the wind blowing pass them. He threw himself onto Mikan with a jump and a call of "Oneechan!" He burrowed his head into Mikan's chest and he was basically straddling Mikan with his arms around Mikan's neck.

"**Did you miss me that much?**" Mikan asked, her hands running up and down Youichi's back soothingly.

"**Of course! I haven't seen you in forever!**" Youichi cried out with tears beginning to leak out of his eyes.

"**Oi, oi, no crying or else no Howaloons for you for a month~**"

Immediately, Youichi wiped away his tears and looked up at Mikan with an adorable pout. "**You are such a meanie**, oneechan!"

"**Haha, I know, but that's why you love me so much!**" Mikan then looked at one of the golems and asked, "**Now that I have finished my task, I will be teleporting back, alright?**"

Quickly glancing at the program controls, she found the button that will allow her to talk through the golem. "Yeah, go ahead."

Mikan nodded as she felt a tug on her shirt. It was Youichi.

"**Task?**" Youichi questioned, confused by what Mikan was saying.

"**Yeah, task. I had a challenge to go through the Northern Forest and get you from the elementary division.**"

"**Does that mean you wouldn't have came to find me if you** **never had that mission?**" Youichi was looking at Mikan with puppy dog eyes that had tears attempting to break out.

"**Of course...**" Mikan said without hesitation and Youichi's tears threatened to break out even more. "**…not.**"

Youichi's arms began hitting Mikan childishly. "**You big meany!**"

Mikan just took in his hits with giggles. "**Sorry sorry~ I just couldn't help it, it's so fun to tease you!**"

"**Still!**" Youichi had on a pout that made Mikan want to just keep on hugging him and never let go.

"**I am gonna teleport us to the high school division now,**" Mikan informed before teleporting them away, shocking everyone else in the classroom. They had never seen their classmate, Youichi, act like that before, not even with Natsume, and this was probably the first time they have seen so much emotion from Youichi.

When the duo arrived at the high school division, they were met with such looks of pure astonishment that they couldn't help but break out into a fit of laughter and giggle, which only caused more shock to their classmates.

"Youichi," Natsume called out and Youichi looked up, finally controlling his laughter until it ceased. Mikan ceased her laughter as well to listen to what they had to say.

"Hello there, Natsume-nii," Youichi greeted back with a nod, but made no move to get out of Mikan's comfortable hold.

"Do you know her? Why do you call her 'oneechan'? I didn't realize you speak French," Natsume questioned with open curiosity. '_Why does it seem like Youichi seems more comfortable with her than me? This is the first time I have seen him so lighthearted and carefree. He has never laughed like that with me either._'

Youichi had on a guarded expression, but he still had on a smile. He liked Natsume-nii a lot, but Mikan-oneechan will always come first. Youichi shrugged in response. "I have known her even before I entered the school, that's all."

"How come I have never heard of her until today?" Natsume persisted as he narrowed his eyes at the two. He could tell Youichi was hiding something and he wanted to know what it is.

"You never asked." Youichi then glared at Natsume for the first time. "Why do you seen so interested in my Mikan-oneechan?"

Natsume was shocked by the display of hostility from Youichi. Even when he first met Youichi and Youichi was still cold towards him, Youichi still never glared at him, but just because of a new girl, Youichi glared at him? Just who is this girl?

"Youichi," Mikan warned and flicked Youichi on the forehead.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Youichi protested as his hands flew to his throbbing forehead.

"**You shouldn't speak like that to your Natsume-niisan. And who the heck taught you to glare like that?**" Mikan scolded with a scowl.

"You were the one who taught me!"

Mikan scowled and narrowed her eyes at Youichi. "**You shouldn't be talking back like that either! Now apologize to Hyuuga!**"

With a scowl that was similar to Mikan's, Youichi turned to face Natsume with a defiant look. "Gomen nasai, Natsume-nii. Demo..." Youichi looked straight into Natsume's eyes with his ghost friends popping out. "...back off from my Mikan-oneechan."

Mikan whacked Youichi on the head. "**I am not yours or anyone's.**"

_'Yeah... Tell that to Serio_,' Youichi thought with a scoff, but he didn't dare to say that out loud.

However, Mikan was tuning in to his mind and whacked him on his head. "**Don't be an idiot.**"

Youichi rubbed his head with a scowl, but stayed silent.

Turning to face her still-shocked classmate, she began to walk towards them and started poking Koko's cheek. She looked over at Hotaru and Ruka. "**Will they be okay?**"

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Nothing my Baka gun can't fix."

"**Your Baka gun?**" Mikan questioned as if it was a foreign word, but she of course knew what it was already.

She pulled out her signature Baka gun from under the table. "This. Now move."

Mikan nodded as she quickly teleported a decent distance away with Youichi still in her arms and her bear in Youichi's arms.

Once Mikan and Youichi were out of the way, Hotaru proceeded to shoot all of her frozen classmates.

Loud protests of pain were heard as Hotaru shot them several times one by one.

"Ouch!"

"What was that for, Imai-san!"

Hotaru gave them an annoyed look. "You guys look like fish derived of water and deer caught in headlights. Such a stupid look you guys had."

Her classmates didn't say anything else. One of the students spoke up, "How come Mr. Bear didn't hit you and why is Hijiri-san so friendly with you?"

Mikan shrugged and looked at Sumire."**I completed my challenge so I have proven myself now. You guys shouldn't have anything else to say.**"

Ruka opened his mouth and was about to translate but Youichi beat him to it.

"Y-You must have cheated or something!" Sumire couldn't believe that Mikan completed that challenge with such ease and she didn't even sport a single scratch on her. How is that possible?

Mikan coldly glared at Sumire. "**Every single one of you as well as the teachers was watching me the entire time. So don't be a sore loser.**"

Youichi translated that and a malicious glare accompanied his words, he never did like that girl.

"Natsume-kun! Say something! You know the Northern Forest the best!"

'_Actually, I can still get lost in that forest, so my knowledge of it is only on a need-to-know basis. There's no point in knowing anymore than that._' But Natsume would never let anyone know that.

Looking up to meet Sumire's eyes, he pronounced stoically, "No, she finished the challenge fair and square."

"But she knew You-kun beforehand!" Sumire didn't relent in her protest and Youichi glared at her for nicknaming him.

"**So? Did you not give me this challenge knowing beforehand that it's nearly impossible?**" Mikan queried with a stone cold expression, she hated sore losers just as much as liars. Youichi immediately translated.

"B-But t-that's different!"

"**How so?**"

Youichi translated and he could feel his urge to attack her with his Alice growing.

Sumire's words were strangled in her throat and not knowing what else to do, she just charged toward Mikan like a bull with the intent to attack her.

But before Sumire could get within ten feet of Mikan, a wall of evil spirits barred Sumire from getting any closer. The feeling Sumire got when the evil spirits surrounded her filled her with cold dread. Sumire fell on her knees as she begged, "G-Get them a-away from me!"

"No one is allowed to even come close to hurting my Mikan-oneechan!" Youichi declared as he gave each of the students a leveled glare, even Hotaru and Natsume. He couldn't help but remember how weak Mikan was when she came back that one time from the mission to retrieve an antidote for the virus in her body. He never wants to see his strong and beloved oneechan like that again.

"You-chan," Mikan warned gently with a soft expression. "**Stop using your Alice now or else I will stop it for you.**"

With one last look at the trembling figure of Sumire, Youichi ceased off his spirits.

"Che, she deserved that," Youichi said without a tinge of remorse.

Mikan gave Youichi a disapproving look but stayed silent. "_Tell them we are going now, You-chan._"

Youichi nodded and told them, "We will be going now since you guys have nothing else to say."

Turning to Hotaru, Mikan requested, "**Please deliver the Azu program to room 409 tonight.**"

Hotaru's eyes widened slightly when she heard the room number, but nodded nonetheless.

Mikan winked and gave Hotaru a word of thanks before teleporting away with Youichi.

'_So she already knew she was a special star, but still took the challenge anyways? It is well known that special stars are more than capable, so why did she not tell anyone that until now? Did she __**want**__ to get challenged?_' Hotaru was once again surprised by the new student. Then she smirked. 'I _like her already. I think we just might become best friends.'_

* * *

**That night...**

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

"Ah, Imai is here~" Mikan said in Japanese as she glanced over at Youichi who was sitting in the living room watching an anime. She was currently cooking dinner in the open kitchen that her special star room provided. "You-chan, can you help me go get the door?"

Youichi looked over at what she was doing before nodding, he was at a pretty mellow part in his anime right now anyways. When he opened the door, Hotaru didn't seem surprised, she sort of expected Youichi to still be with Mikan anyways. "Come on in, Imai-san."

Hotaru nodded and went inside the room with a handheld bag. Her eyes slid over the room's simple yet distinctive interior.

"Where's Sakura-san?" she asked in a professional voice as she watched Youichi close the door before walking back to the living room.

"I am in the kitchen, Imai-san. Did you bring Azu?" Mikan said in perfectly fluent Japanese.

Hotaru walked over to the living room. Hotaru's eyes narrowed at the language Mikan spoke. She said accusingly, "You can speak Japanese perfectly fine. So why did you choose to speak French instead?"

Mikan walked out of the kitchen with two dishes in her hands. "It's much more fun this way, and plus, people won't attempt to talk to me as much, don't you agree?"

At that answer, Hotaru responded with a smirk. "I do agree. But why did you decide to reveal your ploy to me? I was perfectly fooled."

Mikan shrugged and walked back into the kitchen. "No particular reason, you are sharp, you would have figured it out sooner or later. Now where's my Azu? It's a very valuable possession of mine."

Hotaru's hand held up the bag she was holding. "Here."

With just a glance at the bag, Mikan let out a chuckle. "What a _special_ bag that is, Imai-san."

Hotaru knew her trick was uncovered. "Very impressive, how did you figure it out?"

"From that display this afternoon, I can tell you are a person who just won't give someone something free for no reason."

Hotaru smirked and took out the bag that Mikan gave her from her specialized bag that has the functions of being a bug and spy camera. "You are a very observing person. I think we will get along just fine."

"I think so as well." Mikan flashed Hotaru an amiable smile that was full of warmth.

"So, do you really have a case of xenophobia? Or is it just part of your ruse?" Hotaru walked over to the dining table.

"Yes, I really have xenophobia, it's just not as bad as it could be. I am still only getting used to you."

"I thought so. You hug your bear a lot when our classmates crowd around you and try to talk to you." Hotaru was glad that she at least got something right.

"Mmhm. So, would you like to join us for dinner? I have crabs tonight," Mikan invited as she brought out the last dish and the delicious aroma of perfectly cooked crabs filled Hotaru's senses.

Her eyes wide as they followed the plate of crabs intently before they reluctantly looked up to meet Mikan's eyes. "How did you know I particularly favor crabs?"

Mikan just winked in response. "Who knows?"

Hotaru had on another smirk. "Yes, we will definitely get on just fine."

* * *

**The next morning...**

"Minna-san, I have an announcement to make." Narumi clapped his hands together to get the class's attention. They were currently in homeroom.

The students, who were surprised when they realized they were so focused on their conversation about what happened yesterday that they didn't even notice their teacher coming in, looked up expectantly.

"We don't usually do this, but I would like to announce that we have already decided on Mikan-chan's star ranking and she is officially a special star." Narumi had on a proud smile and winked at Mikan.

The students' chatter started once again. They half expected that ever since Mikan finished yesterday's challenge so easily, but it still came as a surprise to them.

"Narumi-sensei! Did the teachers decide on that just because of what happened yesterday?" Sumire was in disbelief. She was trying to make trouble for Mikan, but did she actually help Mikan instead?

Narumi looked at Sumire with eyes that resembled the ice of the Arctic, cold and bone-chilling. "No. We decided on her ranking yesterday morning already, but at the request of Mikan-chan, we were not supposed to tell you guys about it until she 'proved' herself to you guys."

Everyone, except for Hotaru, turned to look at Mikan, which only made her hold on her teddy bear tighten. Hotaru had on a knowing smirk on her face.

Sumire was slightly impressed, Mikan could have just told them her star ranking to defuse that situation yesterday, but instead, Mikan took on the challenge willingly knowing that the odds were against her. '_But that still doesn't mean I will accept her so easily. She's still a threat between me and my two princes._'

Mikan sighed mentally. '_So much for not bringing attention upon myself._'

"There's also something else I have to say." Everyone's attention turned to their sensei. "It's been decided that Mikan-chan will become a trainee as an executive principal and if all goes well, she will become an official executive principal by the start of next semester."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. This was the first time they have ever heard of a new student becoming an executive so quickly.

"H-How come, Narumi-sensei?" It was Mochu who asked that as he glanced at Mikan warily.

"Not only did she ace the exams that we gave her two days ago, but she has shown that she can control her Alice just as well. As long as she keeps up her behavior, she will be the perfect candidate for an executive principal."

_Riiinnnng._

"Ah, there goes the bell, I will see you guys later." With a wave, Narumi exited the classroom.

"_Congratulations, Mikan,_" Rei said mockingly.

"_Oh, shut up, Rei. This only means I have less time to spend with you._"

Rei's eyes widened when he realized the truth of her words. _'You aren't going to be an executive principal._'

"_Oh, but I am,_" Mikan teasingly retorted.

'_No, you are not._' Rei was being intransigence on this issue. They already have less than enough time together already, he doesn't need another thing to interfere with the time they spend together.

"_Rei, once I have everything settled, I will be able to spend more time with you_," Mikan reassured.

Rei stayed silent. _'She's going to leave me behind... She will attract so many friends that she won't have time for me anymore._'

"_Rei! Stop thinking like that! Didn't I tell you already? We are always going to be together. You won't lose me, we have been through too much already._"

Rei's eyes turned guilty. _'Why do I have to be so freaking insecure? Why do I keep doubting Mikan's words?'_

"_It's okay, Rei. Don't beat yourself over this._"

_'But I know I hurt you when I don't believe in your words._' Rei wanted the ground to just suck him in.

"_Mah, mah, I will survive. Let's talk about something else. Are there any missions tonight?_"

Rei nodded, sobering up. '_Yes._'

"_I will have a doppelganger at school and go to my suite tonight then. It's about time I go see Aoi anyways._"

'_Alright then. You should pay attention to class now._'

"_Fine fine~_"

* * *

**With the HSP...**

"What an interesting niece I have, Yuka-san," Kazumi remarked as he read over the investigation report of Sakura Mikan.

"What is it, Kazu?" Yuka looked up from the book she was reading. You would think that she would be all anxious and worried right now, and she was, but reading helped calm her down and she knew that the only thing she can do right now is to wait. It's not as if she can just appear in front of Mikan and tell the girl she is her mother. That would only bring more loss than gain.

"It seems that although there is evidence that Mikan was from an orphanage, but that orphanage closed down fourteen years ago and when you went to find her six years ago, you couldn't find any evidence of her. So where has she been for the past fourteen years?"

"Where did Rei find her then?" Yuka questioned back, her book completely forgotten.

"I don't know, but you also mentioned that you met a person that called you okaasan six years ago who probably has the Alice of nullification. The Mikan right now has the Alice of nullification with three other Alices. She can also control her Alices well and her athletic skills are obviously higher than a normal person's. What if she's been in the gakuen this entire time?"

Yuka's face resembled that of a fish out of the water. "H-How?"

"I can only think of one possible reason and that's Kuonji."

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reading this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it. I know... I am evil. ;) I should have a chapter about Rei's birthday... XD Not sure when I am updating next, possibly next Friday? :P I have the next chapter written, but meh, I am evil. Oh yeah, guys, I started a new fanfiction under La Corda d'Oro and the pairing is AzumaxKahoko, so anyone interested in that should go read it. Bleh, I know I am trying to promote my story, but *shrugs* who cares.

Don't you love how devious Mikan is? :)

Next chapter: The Central Town

Here's some previews to reward you guys for giving me soooooo many reviews~ :)

* * *

_"Mikan," Shūichi called out, making Mikan pause in her steps. She was fully listening since it's rare that Shūichi would call her with her whole name. "I am sorry. It's just that I don't know what to do anymore."_

"Y-You should just agree with her, Imai. I feel like I am committing the worse sin ever right now."

'_How ironic. I gain one Imai, but I might have lost the other one. Will I be able to keep this one when I am so full of lies?_' -Mikan

"My little hime is all grown up now and is making so many friends... I should be happy for her, but why do I feel like I just want to lock her back up and keep her all to myself?" -Kuonji

_"I know… but when she is involved, I don't know what I want to do anymore… Goodness, I sound like a love-sick teenager, what is she turning me into?" _-Kuonji

'A sheet of paper? Could it be from…?' -Natsume

_"I am here to pick up the order of Reiji Miyuki." _-Mikan

"Hyuuga-san, you should come in and stop _trying_ to eavesdrop on us now." -Mikan

_"Stupid people who can't even get their own food and have to resort to cake stealing."_ -Mikan

"And you would allow her to sell my pictures like that? What kind of logic is that, little girl?" -Natsume

'_DARN! How is she always able to get ahead of me? And if she was there this afternoon, then does that mean she saw me hanging out with Ruka, Sakura and Imai? Is she going to tell Persona then? Ugh!_' Natsume didn't know whether he was glad or frustrated. '_Is she supposed to be an ally or an enemy?'_

* * *

And that's the end of the previews... Next chapter is 8000+ words, don't know how it got that long. T_T But anyways, thanks for reading my story! I would love to hear from you~

Until next time~

Best wishes always,  
Zenophobiaz  
**Published:** 04-13-11  
**Edited:** 09-20-11


	13. Chapter 13: The Central Town

**A/N:** Hey, this is Zenophobiaz bringing you the newest chapter of Light in the Darkness. Special thanks to: Iris Butterfly, GakuenDeath, Akatsuki Utaou, Cafuchi, rea, Bebe it you, Haru Shikamotoroshi, and Aura. I didn't really to any reviews this time, because I have been sorta busy lately… But thank you, everyone, for reading and reviewing my story! You guys are so awesome that "awesome" doesn't do you guys justice.

This chapter is going to start off with a slightly serious tone, before switching to more fun, slightly serious again, and back to fun. I really had fun writing this chapter, especially since I have wanted to write a chapter that was about Mikan, Ruka, Natsume, and Hotaru spending the day at Central Town for quite a while. I view this as a pretty fun chapter and next chapter is going to be pretty fun too. I wanted to have a few fun chapters before having a more serious tone to it, but lemme tell you now, this story doesn't have any huge climax like an Alice war with the AAO or whatever, coz let's face it, the Mikan in my story can easily beat the AAO slash Z anytime that she wanted to. This story does have a plot (that I haven't fully developed but I have a rough sketch of it) and most of the things that goes on are gonna happen in the Gakuen. :)

Well, that's it. This is one of those longer author notes and I hope that you guys did read it because I know some people don't really read author notes. I am one of those people sometimes too. *shrugs*

This chapter is pretty long, and long chapters are just my style. I apologize in advance for any typos and grammar problems in advance, if you pick one up, point it out to me~ :) Enjoy!

* * *

**[Notes]-**

"**Text like this**" means the words are said in French.

"Hime" means "Princess."

"Crème" means "cream" and "pâtisserie" means "pastry shop."

"Satou" means "sugar" and "ko" means "child" so basically, "Satouko" means "sugar child" or "child of sugar."

"Arigato" = "Thank you"

"-oneechan" = cuter way of saying big sister. 'Onee' is the big sister, but you usually have a honorific with that like most names, so you can have "oneesama", "oneesan", "oneechan" or even without the "o" and have it as "neechan" and etc.

"Bonjour, Monsieur [blank]" = "Hello, mister [blank]."

"Kawaii" = "cute"

"Senpai" = "upperclassman"

"Yojinbo" = "body guard" so basically "yojinbo-san" = "Mr. /Mrs. /Ms. Bodyguard"

"Baka imouto" = "stupid (younger) sister"

"baka onna" = "stupid woman," but "onna" can be used to refer to girls too.

"Je t'aime beaucoup, Kaname-senpai!" = "I like you a lot, Kaname-senpai!"

"Gomen" means "Sorry" and it's an informal way.

Please refer to previous chapters for the notes on Japanese honorifics.

* * *

**Chapter 13 – The Central Town**

**On Sunday…**

"**Bonjour, Monsieur Imai,**" Mikan greeted as she entered the office of Imai Subaru in the Alice hospital.

Subaru looked up from his work and regarded Mikan with softer looking eyes. "Nice to meet you, Sakura _Mikan_-san."

Mikan let out a string of bell-like giggles. "Don't be so stingy, Subaru-_sensei_. You already knew my real identity, but you played along with me anyways, so it's not really my fault, Subaru-niichan."

"I guess Shūichi was right in you knowing our knowledge of your real identity after all. And didn't I tell you to stop calling me with the '-niichan' already?" Subaru casted Mikan a look of annoyance.

"But it's so much more kawaii!" Mikan bounced towards Subaru and gave him a big hug. "I missed you, Subaru-niichan!"

"My, my, I am getting jealous, Mi-chan," Shūichi remarked as he teleported into Subaru's office.

Mikan jumped off of Subaru with a shout of "Shūichi-niichan!" and ran to give Shūichi his hug. "Don't be~ I missed you too!"

"Good! I missed you a lot, you don't know how much I wanted to hug you when I saw you in class!" Shūichi pouted like a child.

"Well, I am glad you didn't, Shūichi," Subaru said dryly as his hand pushed up his glasses. "Where's your translator? I heard Nogi was supposed to accompany you."

"Yeah, but I told him that I won't feel comfortable with him there while I am seeing you, so I told him to wait for me somewhere else."

"Alright. Now what's this trance-like state I heard about?" Subaru inquired as he picked up a clipboard from his desk.

"My trance-like state aka I am talking to someone through telepathy and don't feel like paying attention to the outside world."

"I knew it was a fraud." Subaru rolled his eyes and dropped the clipboard on his desk.

"Who were you talking to?" Shūichi questioned seriously. "That mysterious caretaker of yours that you won't tell us about?"

"Mmhm," Mikan replied absentmindedly as she looked around Subaru's office.

"Where have you been living anyways?" Shūichi continued to inquire as his eyes followed every single one of Mikan's movement.

"The dorms."

"Mikan, be serious," Shūichi ordered, he was getting tired of all these secrets surrounding Mikan. Well, who wouldn't be after six years of the same mysteries unsolved?

"I am." Mikan looked straight into Shūichi's eyes, absolutely serious with no traces of the usual playfulness inside of her. "Are you trying to get information out of me for Yukihira-kouchou? Haven't I told you not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong?"

Shūichi released an exasperated sigh and sat down on the couch with a millennium of tiredness in his eyes. "I am not trying to tell on you to Yukihira-sama or anything. I am just trying to clear up all these mysteries that you have given me. Are you an enemy or an ally, Mikan? That's all I want to know."

"I can be either depending on you guys." Mikan understood what Shūichi wanted, she knew that it was inevitable, but that doesn't mean it will stop her from trying.

"This is what I mean. Stop talking in such cryptic language!" Shūichi didn't know what to think anymore. He is divided between his loyalty to the HSP and his loyalty to Mikan.

"I think it's time for me to go now," Mikan announced as she began walking towards the door.

"Mikan," Subaru called out and Mikan halted. "What should I tell Jinno-sensei and the others about your so-called trances?"

"Tell them it's psychological and can't be fixed with normal medicine. The only thing you can do is to prevent it from worsening, so I should come in a on a regular basis."

"Alright." Subaru nodded and Mikan continued walking.

"Mikan," Shūichi called out, making Mikan pause in her steps again. She was fully listening since it's rare that Shūichi would call her with just her give name. "I am sorry. It's just that I don't know what to do anymore."

Mikan turned around and gave him a melancholic smile. "It's okay, I understand."

Mikan then turned back around and left Subaru's office with a sad look in her eyes.

"I value her a lot, Subaru, and she's like my little sister, but are we really doing the right thing by keeping what we know from Yukihira-sama and Yuka-san?" Shūichi whispered in a tone full of uncertainty and regret.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's right for us to betray Mikan. She might not show it, but she will be really sad if we betray her." Subaru took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with weariness.

"Why couldn't we have met Mikan-chan in a much simpler way?" Shūichi asked, mostly to himself.

"But if we did, would she mean as much to us?" Subaru retorted back.

"Yeah… that's true."

* * *

**With Mikan…**

"**Ruka-pyon,**" Mikan called out as she stepped into the lobby of the hospital and found Ruka sitting there with Hotaru. "**Ah, Imai-san as well.**"

"Sakura-san, are you done?" Ruka asked, looking up.

"**Didn't I tell you to call me by my give name?**" Mikan chided in a playful manner, covering up all the sadness she felt from her meeting with her two senpai.

"M-Mikan-chan, are you done?" Ruka shyly asked with a blush decorating his cheek.

Mikan glomped Ruka. "**Ruka-pyon, you are so cute**!"

This only made Ruka redden even more and without fail, Hotaru pulled out her camera and snapped continuous pictures of Ruka.

"I-Imai-san! St-Stop that!" Ruka protested in embarrassment.

Hotaru ignored him and checked to see if the pictures were any good. "Ah, this will make me a lot of rabbits."

Mikan giggled at the interaction between the two and finally stepped back from Ruka.

"Mi-Mikan-chan! Not you too!" Ruka wanted to just dig a hole and hide in there. '_Am I really that fun to tease?_'

"**S-Sorry, Ruka-pyon~ But it's too funny!**" Mikan tried to cease her giggles, but didn't have much success.

"It's not funny!"

Ignoring Ruka, Hotaru turned to Mikan. "That's right, I have been meaning to ask you, Sakura-san, but how come you use the Japanese honorifics even when you are speaking French?"

Finally ending her giggles, Mikan replied, "**Because it's so much fun to use them. They are something I like to use.**"

Hotaru nodded. "So what did my oniisan say?"

"**Same old, same old. I have to come back regularly to see him though.**"

"You don't seem surprised that we are siblings."

Mikan shrugged. "**You guys have the same last name and resemble each other. It's only logical that I come to that conclusion without being told. So what do you guys want to do? I have some time on my hands.**"

"Have you been to Central Town yet, Mikan-chan?" Ruka asked.

"**Nope. What's that?**" Mikan pretended to be clueless.

"It's basically a shopping center where Alice merchants open stores and sell their stuff." It was Hotaru who replied.

"**Are we going there?**" Mikan questioned.

"Yeah, let's go there. Do you have any rabbits yet?" Ruka asked as he gestured for them to start walking.

Mikan pulled out some coins and bills from her shorts' pocket. "**These, right?**"

Hotaru had money signs in her eyes while Ruka looked shocked.

"**Eh? Are they not it?**" Mikan tilted her head to the side.

"N-No, they are rabbits. It's just that you have a lot more rabbits than normal even though you just came here," Ruka replied.

"**Oh! I see. Well, the academy gave these to me, so I just took it.**" Mikan placed them back into her pockets.

"W-Wow." Ruka was surprised by the special attention that the gakuen is giving Mikan. '_Are they planning to use her just like they use Natsume? But Mikan-chan is such a nice and shy girl!_'

"You know, the school doesn't usually give the student any rabbits when they first start school. But not only did they provide you with rabbits, they also gave you so much. You must be_ really_ special," Hotaru stated bluntly, carefully observing Mikan's movements and reaction.

Mikan turned to face Hotaru with an innocent smile. "**Really? I didn't know that.**"

'_She didn't deny that she's special,_' Hotaru thought with even more suspicion.

Seeing a bus coming into view, Mikan asked, "**We have to take a bus there, right?**"

"Yeah, why do you ask― EH? Mikan-chan!" Ruka exclaimed.

Without any preamble, Mikan took hold of the hands of Ruka and Hotaru, dragging them along with her as she raced towards the bus stop.

"**Hold on!**" Mikan shouted to the school bus.

They made it just in time to catch the bus and Hotaru and Ruka collapsed onto the seat, attempting to calm their breathing while Mikan's breathing wasn't even the least bit irregular.

Once Hotaru was calm enough to speak, she demanded, "What was that for, you baka!"

Mikan looked at the two with the innocence of a child. "**Eh? What do you mean, Hotaru-chan? To catch the bus, of course!**"

"But couldn't you have just teleported us to the bus stop, or even better, Central Town?" Hotaru accused with a glare.

"**Ah yes, of course. But that's not as fun, Hotaru-chan!**"Mikan didn't seem affected by the glare at all.

Hotaru couldn't believe this girl. "Don't you dare to do that ever again. And who said you can call me by my give name?"

Mikan looked at Hotaru with the most irresistible puppy dog eyes Hotaru and Ruka have ever seen. "**But aren't we friends, Hotaru-chan?**"

"Who ever said we are friends?" Hotaru was finding it incredibly hard to resist those eyes even though she has had no problem doing so to others before.

"**We aren't?**" Mikan intensified her puppy dog eyes even more. The two felt like they were kicking a puppy.

Ruka hesitantly told Hotaru, "Y-You should just agree with her, Imai. I feel like I am committing the worse sin ever right now."

Hotaru closed her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, we are friends, Mikan."

Mikan let out a cheer and glomped Hotaru. "**Yay! I have another friend~**!"

Ruka couldn't help but smile and even Hotaru had on a small smile as she uttered, "You are such a simple-minded girl, Mikan, but that's okay."

Hotaru gently patted Mikan's hair. '_Who is the real Mikan? This one or the one interacting with Shouda? Or are both of them part of her? Just who is Sakura Mikan? Will you ever show me the real you?_'

Inside Hotaru's hold, Mikan had on a wistful smile as she savored the warmth Hotaru is giving her. '_How ironic. I gain one Imai, but I might have lost the other one. Will I be able to keep this one when I am so full of lies?_'

"Next stop is Central Town, next stop is Central Town," the driver announced.

"**We are here~!**" Mikan loved new friends, so she was ecstatic to spend the afternoon with her new friends.

* * *

**Somewhere else…**

In another part of the gakuen, the figure of a person in their teens was sitting in his desk, watching the happenings of the gakuen from the monitors on the wall in front of him.

"My little hime is all grown up now and is making so many friends... I should be happy for her, but why do I feel like I just want to lock her back up and keep her all to myself?"

"Don't be stupid, Kuonji," a voice reprimanded as the figure of a beauty in an elegant and elaborate kimono stepped into the office.

Caught off guard, Kageri looked up in shock, but managed to say in a calm voice, "Has the world ended? What brings a person that never steps out of the Hanahime Palace into my humble office?"

"Che, don't kid with me. And stop having stupid thoughts like the one you just had." Hii sat down on the couch gracefully.

"You will never understand what I am feeling." Kuonji scoffed at the MSP.

"Of course not, since you are having such unnecessary and stupid feelings." Hii rolled her eyes.

"Just say why you are here and leave."

"Such a great host you are," Hii said with sarcasm, giving Kageri a taunting look as well.

"If that's all you have to say, then leave."

Hii chuckled at how easily it is to ruffle Kageri up. She soon sobered up and her expression turned serious. "I think Shiki is getting suspicious of the activities going on in the Hanahime Den and he might be attempting to explore it soon."

"Why do you think that?" Kuonji seemed to be contemplating something. It didn't' come as a surprise to him that Shiki and Yuka were inside the gakuen since Mikan told him about that about six years ago, but he didn't do anything yet because there was no need to and the duo can't do anything yet. Under other circumstances, he might have used Mikan to get Yuka out, but Mikan was completely loyal to him and she had the stealing Alice he needed.

"Shiki asked me about the dungeon part once and asked the people working in the Palace about it. He can also feel something from the Den, possibly the illusion and barrier Alice Mikan no Kimi is using, it is a strong barrier at work after all." Hii began fanning herself with a traditional Japanese fan.

"Then he will find nothing except for a well furnished hallway. He might suspect the furnishing of the Den, but he will be stuck in the complexity of this labyrinth." The ESP sat back in his chair and folded his hands.

"I know," the MSP snapped and gave Kageri a look of irritation. "That's not the main problem. Once he begins suspecting the Hanahime Den, he's going to start suspecting my involvement in this whole ordeal and probably be able to trace that link to the relationship between you and me."

"So? Are you saying you are going to break it off with us and betray Mikan?" Kageri regarded Hii with a cold, leveled glare.

"No, that's not what I am saying. I don't care if I am linked to Mikan no Kimi since they won't be able to get anything from me. However, I would hate to be linked to you and I can't guarantee that I will keep quiet about you."

"What are you saying then?"

"You either need to stop entering the Hanahime Palace or you need to come in more subtly along with that boy."

"Alright."

"Also, what will you do when Shiki decides to explore the Den?"

"Isn't Shiki _your_ problem since he's your relative and all?" Hii glowered at Kageri and Kageri smirked in reply. "But I will pass on this problem to Mikan and she can deal with it however she wants."

Hii nodded in understanding. "I still have a question though. Why are you and Mikan no Kimi not covering you guys' track completely?"

"Mikan thinks it's more fun this way."

"And you are letting her do just that? Are you not afraid that she will find out the truth?"

"I am afraid, very afraid in fact…" Kageri admitted. "…but I will just have to take that risk. The plan has been delayed long enough already."

"What a brave yet stupid thing to do," the MSP remarked as she got up and walked towards the exit.

The ESP stayed silent as Hii left his office.

"I know… but when she is involved, I don't know what I want to do anymore… Goodness, I sound like a love-sick teenager, what is she turning me into?" Kageri said as he watched the laughing figure of Mikan exploring Central Town with her new friends.

* * *

**With Mikan…**

"I need to go pick up some parts so let's meet back up at that cafe in half an hour," Hotaru said, pointing at a nearby cafe.

Mikan nodded as Hotaru walked away and looked over at Ruka. "**Will you be staying with me or are you going somewhere else too?**"

Ruka looked at her with guiltiness and uncertainty. "Well... I have to get some food for my rabbit, but I don't wanna leave you alone... Would you like to come with me?"

Mikan waved it off and replied, "**Don't worry about me~ I will be fine. I will just explore a little, so you can go to the pet store or whatever and we will meet back at that cafe in half an hour, okay?**"

"You sure you will be fine on your own?" Ruka was reluctant to leave Mikan by herself, especially since Mikan only speaks French.

"**I will be fine! If I am in any trouble, I can just teleport away!**"

"Well... If you say so..." Ruka trailed off.

"**Go, go~! You wouldn't wanna make Hotaru wait later, right?**" Mikan reminded Ruka.

Ruka's eyes widened in fear as he thought about the consequences of making Hotaru wait. "I-I will go n-now! Be careful!"

Ruka quickly ran off towards the direction of the pet store.

'_That was easy... Well, time to go visit a certain someone..._' Mikan began walking toward the direction of a certain store. As she walked by a pâtisserie, she stopped to look at the window showcase. '_Ooo, those look yummy. I should buy some and bring it with me. It's been a while since I had cake with him anyways._'

_Jingle._

The owner of the store looked up from her magazine with a smile. "Ah, a customer!"

Looking around the fairly empty store, she questioned in Japanese, "Is your shop always this empty?"

"No, it's just that lunch is over, so there aren't as many customers." The owner shook her head. "I am Satouko, what can I get you?"

Looking at the display case at the front of the store, she replied, "I would like two strawberry shortcakes, two key lime pies, one cheesecake, one tiramisu, two strawberry crème puffs and one vanilla crème puff please, Satouko-san."

"Is this all for you?" Satouko was surprised.

"Nah, I would have gotten more if it were. This is for my friends and I... and maybe an extra guest." Mikan could sense a familiar presence nearby.

Satouko chuckled as she proceeded to get Mikan's orders and placed them in a box. "Alright then."

Once she was done, Mikan took out some rabbits. "How much will that be?"

"1,000 rabbits please," Satouko replied as she typed in the items in the cashier.

Mikan counted out the rabbits and handed them over before picking up the bag with the box of pastries inside. "Arigatou."

"Please come again!" Satouko called out as Mikan walked out of the pâtisserie.

Walking out of the pâtisserie, she glanced around and found the black-haired lad that she sensed earlier standing in front of an accessory shop some distance away, wistfully looking at a particular hairpin.

'_Hm… he probably wants to buy that for Aoi-chan,_' Mikan pondered and a sudden bulb of inspiration went off in her head. '_I know! Aoi-chan will definitely appreciate this!_'

Quickly walking towards a nearby bench that's hidden from Natsume's view, she placed her bag of sweets on the bench and teleported a mini-laptop that's connected to a mini-sized printer out of her locket. The computer quickly powered on at the click of a button and soon, she was typing away on her laptop. Once she was done with her message, which only took a minute or so, she printed it off, folded it and teleported it right above Natsume.

Hurriedly powering down her technologies and teleporting them back into her locket, she picked up her pastries and began walking away.

Natsume was looking at the hairpin displayed with a sense of longing. Although he would never admit it out loud to anyone, including Ruka, he missed his baka imouto a whole lot. He wondered how she was doing. It's been a while since he last heard from her, since his last birthday, to be exact. Ever since that kidnapping incident six years ago, he would find a letter addressed to him on his birthday in his room. It would be a letter from his imouto wishing him a happy birthday and the letter usually contained a picture of his imouto as well.

Suddenly, Natsume felt something softly landing on his head. So without really paying any attention to what he was doing, he reached up and grabbed the thing that landed. Looking at it, his eyes widened in surprise. '_A sheet of paper? Could it be from…?_'

He hastily opened the sheet of paper and it read, "_Hey, Hyuuga, miss me much? Well anyways, I wanted to tell you that if you complete all of your finals and all of your scores on the finals are over 90, I will let you pass on a gift and letter to your imouto by my methods. So yeah, good luck and have fun~! –Yojinbo-san._"

Natsume's eyes widened even more once he was done reading the letter. '_Is she serious? Why would she let me do that?_'

From the corner of his eyes, he obliquely saw a blob of brown golden hair walk past and looking up, he found the mysterious new student walking by with a bag in her hand and her bear in her other hand. '_Ah… it's her. She seems to be heading somewhere… where is she going?_'

Subconsciously, his legs started following the brunette already. '_What the? Why do I even _want_ to know where that little girl is going?_'

As he gave up on dissuading his legs to stop following the girl, he began to notice how Mikan knew where she was walking to and didn't seem to be having any troubles at all. '_Why does it seem like she knows the grounds of this gakuen even better than most of the gakuen's students?_'

When Mikan finally stopped, she was in front of a toymaker's shop and she can sense that Natsume was not far behind her.

_Jingle, jingle_.

Looking up, the store owner stopped his doll making with a smile. "Welcome, how may I help you?"

With an innocent smile and a gleam in her eyes, she replied, "I am here to pick up the order of Reiji Miyuki."

Outside, Natsume heard Mikan's fluent Japanese and he couldn't help but be angered and surprised. '_So she's been using Ruka and playing the rest of us all along? Her having that whatever-phobia is probably a lie as well. Has she been telling a single truth? I despise people who use Ruka. And who the heck is this Reiji Miyuki person?_'

To sum it all, a tornado of emotion was swirling inside Natsume and he could barely keep himself from barging into the store and burn that girl to a crisp. The only thing that kept him from doing so was his curiosity about this Reiji Miyuki person.

Shocked to the core, the blond owner dropped his sewing noodle and doll material on the floor. "W-Wh-Who a-are you?"

Mikan let out an amusement-filled giggle. "Do you _really_ not know who I am, Kaname-senpai?"

Kaname shook his head furiously.

Mikan held up the bear in her hand. "Do you not remember this, Kaname-senpai?"

Kaname's eyes went to the bear and his eyes enlarged considerably, but his body's tensed muscles immediately relaxed. "Mi-Miyu-chan?"

"Ah! You finally recognized me!" Mikan exclaimed giddily as she bounced over to a nearby table and placed the box of pastries on the table.

'_What the heck are they saying, why can't I hear them anymore?_' Natsume thought with lucid frustration. The last thing he heard was the stuttered "Who are you?" from the shop owner and then after that, it was as if someone suddenly cut off an electrical line and the city goes into a black out. He could hear nothing.

"What are you doing here, Miyu-chan! You almost gave me a heart attack! And why do you look so different?"

Mikan shrugged. "I go to school in the gakuen now and this is my real appearance."

Kaname seemed more surprised by the former piece of information than the latter. "I see. Why the sudden change of schooling?"

"My otousan wanted me to, so I did." Mikan began taking the cake box out. "I bought some pastries for us just now by the way."

Kaname nodded as he picked his fallen stuff of the floor. "So is Miyuki your real name?"

"Nope~ it's just my alias. My quote real unquote name is Sakura Mikan, though I prefer Reiji Mikan, but yeah, the school knows me as Sakura Mikan." Mikan opened the box and teleported plates, forks, knives and napkin from who-knows-where.

Kaname had an understanding look on. "I see. Don't worry, Mi-chan, I am not mad at you. You could say that I half expected this, so cheer up!"

Although it wasn't really shown, Mikan was afraid that Kaname would get mad at her and leave her. During the challenge in the Northern Forest, Bear was able to recognize her because of her spirit and she has long since dropped the disguise with Bear.

Mikan just started eating her cake glumly.

Kaname sweat-dropped. "I understand that it's for your safety and the security of your secret, so stop being so glum!"

"Really?" Mikan stared into Kaname's eyes with puppy dog eyes.

"Yes!"

Mikan dropped her cake onto her plate and jumped up to glomp Kaname, causing the blond to stumble back a few steps, but not enough to cause him to fall back totally. "M-Mi-chan!"

"Je t'aime beaucoup, Kaname-senpai!"

"I have no idea what you just said, so I will just assume that it's something good." Kaname let out a chuckle and had on a fond smile on his face. Looking over at the box of cakes, he asked, "So, what did you get me?"

"Well… first, I would like to introduce you to a classmate slash stalker slash eavesdropper of mine," Mikan began and as she said that, she used one of her Alices to open the door to the store. "Hyuuga, you should come in and stop _trying_ to eavesdrop on us now."

Outside, Natsume's eyes showed the shock that he was feeling at being discovered while the rest of his face was molded into a look of uncaring nonchalance. He carefully walked to the doorway and at the scene of undeniable closeness in front of him, his eyes visibly narrowed. "How did you know I was outside?"

"Please, your skills at hiding are equal to that of a toddler." Mikan rolled her eyes. "So, did you find out anything interesting?"

Natsume glared at Mikan for insulting him. He knew that his skills at tracking someone is almost unmatched and so far, the only people that those skills didn't work on were Persona, the Ice Queen, Narumi, the principals and this new girl. "What is the relationship between the two of you?"

"Geez, are you always this blunt, Hyuuga?" Mikan raised an eyebrow as she jumped off of Kaname and dusted her hands off before walking towards her cake.

A scowl marred the features of Natsume. "Just answer my question, little girl."

Mikan picked up her fork and got a piece of the strawberry shortcake she was eating onto her fork. Turning around, she faced Natsume with a sly smile. "What if I told you that he's my fiancé?"

Mikan brought the cake into her mouth and ate it while looking intently at Natsume.

Natsume's eyes widened in surprise before his jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed into a deadpan stare. "I wouldn't care and I will wish you guys the worse marriage in the entire world."

Kaname sweat-dropped at Natsume's hostility and Mikan's tactics.

"Aw~ Why would you do such a thing?" Mikan pouted childishly before she let out a melodious giggle. "But anyways, I am just kidding, Kaname-senpai is sorta like an oniisan to me, I guess."

"Did you meet him before coming to this school as well?" Natsume inquired sarcastically.

The tip of Mikan's fork tapped her chin gently in a pondering gesture. "I guess you can say that."

"You have got to be kidding me. Just how many people did you meet before coming to this freaking school?"

Mikan shrugged and got another bite of her cake onto her fork before sitting down and ate her cake. "Do you want some cake? I have a strawberry short cake and a lot of other stuff."

"No." But Natsume's stomach seemed to disagree with him because exactly that moment, his stomach grumbled in hunger. A tint of red appeared.

Kaname chuckled and walked towards the cake. "You should have some. We have more than enough anyways."

"No, we don't!" Mikan protested with a pout.

Natsume's eyebrow rose at that. "Then why did you offer me some?"

"Because it was the polite thing to do and I brought these with you in mind!" Mikan retorted bluntly with an annoyed expression.

"Are you that obsessed with me already, little girl?" Natsume had on his signature smirk.

Mikan rolled her eyes in irritation. "I have better people to be obsessed about. I just sensed you and thought you would follow me at the first chance you get, so I bought some extras just in case."

Natsume scowled at her reply. "And you were just so sure I would do exactly that?"

"You are here in front of me, aren't you?"

Natsume glowered at her, but stayed silent. '_Since when did I become so predictable?_'

By now, Kaname had already gotten a piece of strawberry shortcake onto a plate and he handed it to Natsume with a fork. "Here, have some. They must be good if Mikan bought them and is still eating them."

Mikan had on a sullen look as she watched a piece of her cake get handed away. She muttered underneath her breath, "Stupid people who can't even get their own food and have to resort to cake stealing."

Natsume took the cake with a smug look. "Ah, but that's not true, you brought it with me in mind, little girl, so it's my cake that I am about to eat."

Mikan glared daggers at Natsume. "Stupid cake stealer who won't even admit to stealing."

Natsume rolled his eyes at the childishness of Mikan. "I didn't steal it. He—" Natsume gestured to Kaname who was getting a tiramisu for himself. "—offered it to me and you willingly asked me if I wanted one."

"Kaname-senpai can have as many as he wants, but you—" Mikan pointed at Natsume with her fork. "—are a whole different case."

"And how am I so different?" Natsume took a bite of his cake and it was probably one of the best strawberry shortcakes he has ever had. It wasn't too sweet, just as he liked it, and the cream was a melt-in-your-mouth kind of cream, which Natsume really liked. The strawberry also seemed to be organic and tasted sweet instead of the sour taste some strawberries have. '_So that guy really was right about that little girl's judgment of cakes. Next time she's buying some strawberry shortcake again, I will be sure to steal some._'

Mikan ignored his question and once he was done with his first bite of the cake, she asked with a beam, "Isn't that cake so good~ I haven't had such delicious strawberry shortcakes in a while. I am definitely going to go back to that place!"

Natsume nodded slowly and took another bite of his cake. This cake was just too good for him to be able to lie about its deliciousness.

"Yay! You agree with me too!" Mikan finished off the rest of her cake and then took out another exquisite looking pastry.

Natsume raised his eyebrow questioningly.

Noticing Natsume's gesture, Mikan explained, "This one is a strawberry choux à la crème, also known as crème puffs."

Seeing Natsume's intent stare at the crème puff, Mikan giggle before teleporting it to Natsume's plate. "Here, you can have that one, I bought another one for myself. And there's a vanilla one for you, Kaname-senpai!"

"Thanks," Kaname replied with a soft smile as he finished off eating his tiramisu.

Natsume had on an inquiring look. Didn't this girl just call him a cake stealer for 'stealing' a piece of cake from her? And now she's even handing over the pastries willingly with a smile? Is she bipolar or something?

Mikan instantly understood what Natsume was asking and let out another giggle. "That was just me sulking because I haven't had much cake lately. But I would gladly share the joy of cakes to people otherwise. As long as you enjoy it, I will give you as much as you want."

"Do you like cakes that much?" Natsume finished off his cake and moved on to the crème puff. As he thought, the crème puff tasted just as heavenly as the cake.

Mikan nodded as she exclaimed, "I love cakes. They are one of the yummiest foods in the world! If I can, I would take you to Paris and show you all those cakes that they have."

"Have you been to Paris?"

"Of course! Or else how can I call myself a cake-lover without going to one of the best places to get cake in the entire world?"

"Mi-chan! You are saying too much!" Kaname chided with a disapproving tone.

Natsume raised an eyebrow at this, but Mikan just waved it off. "Who cares? It won't tell him much anyways~"

Natsume didn't say anything, but inside he was more envious of Mikan than suspicious. His sister has always wanted to visit Paris and he promised her he would one day bring her there with him, but they never got a chance and he doesn't know if they ever will with the way things are going.

As Mikan finished the cake, she glanced at the clock. "Oh! It's almost time to meet up Ruka-pyon and Hotaru-chan." Meeting Natsume's eyes, she asked, "Would you like to come with me?"

"Those two are here too?" Natsume was slightly surprised, but then he wanted to hit his head against the wall. '_Duh! How could I have forgotten about that? If Mikan is here, then that means, Ruka, who is her translator, is going to be here as well! I can't believe I missed that. But that's right! Ruka! She is playing with Ruka!_'

"Yup! Ruka-pyon went to a pet store or whatever to buy food for Usagi-chan and Hotaru-chan went to buy more supplies or something. Anyways, we don't have any more time!" Quickly packing up the pastries and taking out the cheesecake and the remaining crème puff for Kaname, she said, "Kaname-senpai! Those two are for you! The two of us have to go now, I have to meet up with someone and he is coming with me. So I will see you again later, alright?"

"Alright then, Mi-chan. Have fun~" Kaname gave the two a parting wave as Mikan grabbed ahold of Natsume's arm before teleporting away. The rest of the utensils disappeared as well.

"It seems like they will get along just fine, I am glad Mi-chan is making more friends!" Kaname said joyfully before taking the crème puff and started eating it, saving the cheesecake for later.

* * *

**At the café…**

"That baka better not be late," Hotaru muttered as she checked her watch another time, she definitely wasn't a patient person by nature.

"I-I am sure Mikan-chan is coming here right now," Ruka said carefully as he worriedly glanced at the clock. It has almost been thirty minutes since they separated and there was still no sight of Mikan.

"She better be." Hotaru glared at the ticking hand of her watch.

"Ah~ Sorry, I am here!" Mikan shouted out as she and Natsume materialized into the café.

"Ah, it's okay. You aren't late…" Ruka reassured, but noticing Hotaru's glare at him, he quickly added, "…yet."

"Phew… I almost lost track of time." Mikan wiped away imaginary sweat from her forehead. "So how long have you guys been here?"

"Just a few minutes… HOLD ON! Mikan-chan! You are talking in Japanese!" Ruka exclaimed in shock as his chair was pushed out and he got up, attracting the attention of some bystanders. His rabbit scrambled out of Ruka's hold with an annoyed look before settling itself onto the table.

"Took you long enough to notice, bunny boy." Hotaru rolled her eyes.

"I-I th-thought you couldn't speak Japanese!" Ruka ignored Hotaru's jeer.

Mikan tilted her head to the side as she sat down on the chair opposite of Ruka, gesturing for Natsume to sit in the one next to hers and opposite of Hotaru's. "Eh? I never said that? I just said that I was more used to speaking French than Japanese, Ruka-pyon?"

"Y-You could have told me!" Ruka didn't know whether he should be mad at Mikan or not since she was right.

"You never asked." Mikan opened the pastry box and took out the two key lime pies. "I hope you two don't mind key lime pie since that's all I have left."

"As long as it's free, I am fine," Hotaru replied as she took a fork from the place setting and began eating.

"So you didn't really need me this entire time?" Ruka still couldn't believe Mikan's ability to speak Japanese perfectly fine. Then looking at the other two who didn't seem surprised at all, he asked, "You two knew already?"

"I don't know about Imai, but I just found out and I was pretty angry too," Natsume responded before finally taking a bite of his crème puff.

Raising an eyebrow at Hotaru, Ruka waited for Hotaru to reply.

"I found out three days ago."

"And you didn't blackmail her?" Ruka had a hard time believing that Hotaru kept it a secret without blackmailing.

Hotaru shrugged. "I owed her a favor and she let me knew willingly. If she wanted, she probably could have carried this quote language barrier unquote ruse without anyone knowing."

"The great Imai owed the little girl a favor?" Natsume smirked smugly.

"Wipe that smug smile off you face or else I will sell pictures of your half-naked body to your fan girls," Hotaru threatened with an icy glare.

Natsume's smile was immediately undone as his skin color turned a shade paler. "You better not. Or else I will burn you to a crisp."

"Try all you want," Hotaru dared, she wasn't worried.

Natsume immediately conjured up a ball of flame and tried to send the ball towards Imai, but the keyword is "tried." Natsume's eyes widened considerably when his fireball seemed to hit a wall before dissipating into nothing. Natsume gave Mikan a menacing glare that could have withered an entire forest, but Mikan didn't seem to be affected in the slightest.

Mikan met Natsume's eyes head on. "What? I couldn't let you hurt my new friend~"

"And you would allow her to sell my pictures like that? What kind of logic is that, little girl?"

"My kind of logic. So unless you have something to offer, I will let her do whatever she wants." Mikan licked the cream from her mouth.

"What makes you think you would be able to stop me, Mikan?" Hotaru had to raise an eyebrow at that notion.

Mikan gave Hotaru a mischievous look. "Oh, I have my ways, Hotaru-chan." Turning back to face Natsume, she inquired, "So… anything to offer?"

Natsume wracked his brain for anything that would pique Mikan's interest. "A kiss from me?"

Mikan gave Natsume a roll of her eyes. "As if I would want that. I have better people to get kisses from. Maybe if it was Ruka-pyon, I would think about it, but you are obviously not Ruka-pyon, so think of something else."

Ruka's face instantly reddened at that suggestion while Hotaru smirked and pulled out her camera, snapping pictures of a tomato-red Ruka.

"I-Imai! Not this again!" Ruka protested just like earlier.

Ignoring Ruka and Hotaru, Natsume resumed his thinking. What would be something that this girl would say yes to...? She likes sweets… '_Bingo._' "How about I will supply you with two boxes of Howaloons every week for a month?"

Mikan seemed to be thinking about it.

'_That's a good sign,_' Natsume thought with the "How does she even know what Howaloons are?" questions nagging the back of his mind.

"Change it to five large-sized boxes every week for three months and you have a deal."

Seeing as he had plenty of rabbits and his pictures are more important than money, he relented, "Fine. Now stop Imai from selling my pictures."

"Deal. Now watch and learn."

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Hotaru broke off her picture taking and turned to face whoever was poking her with an annoyed look. Her features froze when she was met with the sight of Mikan's fully-charged puppy dog eyes that would gain the pity and indulging of even the most cold-hearted people in the world.

"Hotaru-chan… can you… can you please not sell the half-naked pictures of Hyuuga to his fan girls?" Mikan requested in the most pitying voice possible.

Not wanting to face that look any longer, Hotaru nodded without even thinking, but before she realized what she did, Mikan's face turned to a such a joyful smile that it was as if she never had on the puppy dog eyes in the first place. "Thank you~ Hotaru-chan~!"

Hotaru wanted to hit her head with a hammer over and over again for being so easily affected by mere puppy dog eyes. Sure, it was the best puppy dog eyes she has ever seen in her entire life, but still!

Natsume shook his head quickly to clear the images of Mikan's puppy dog eyes before giving Hotaru a look of pity. He would hate to be on the receiving end of those eyes. If even Hotaru, the ice queen, can't resist those eyes, then he has no chance of resisting them himself.

"You should eat your key lime pie now, Ruka-pyon!" Mikan suggested as she gestured towards the forgotten piece of pastry.

"Alright then. Thank you for the pie, Mikan-chan."

The rest of the afternoon was spent in small talks, they just hung out and everyone learned something new about each other. As promised, Natsume got Mikan her first payment of five boxes of Howaloons.

When they finally left Central town, it was already sunset and all of them could say that this was the most fun they have had in quite a while now and it was all because of Mikan's presence. She was just such a charismatic person to be around that you couldn't help but enjoy yourself and have fun.

"Mikan-chan is such a great person… don't you agree, Natsume?" Ruka asked as he watched the two girls walking ahead of Natsume and him towards the bus stop. Mikan was talking animatedly with Hotaru while Hotaru seemed to be listening with a miniscule smile. "I don't think I have ever seen Imai smile until today even though she's been here for seven years already."

"Yeah… but don't you feel there's still something about her that we are missing?" Natsume voiced his thoughts out loud.

"I do, but I think that she will tell us about it when she wants to, so I am not going to pressure her into anything." Ruka had a fond smile.

"Ruka, do you have a crush on Sakura already?" Natsume asked without reserve as he studied his best friend's expression.

Ruka's face immediately turned scarlet. "Wh-What makes you th-think that?"

Natsume chuckled with a glance at Ruka. "Your expression says it all, Ruka." Turning his gaze towards Mikan, he told Ruka, "When I first found out little girl was fully capable of speaking Japanese, I was really angered because I instantly assumed that she was playing with you and she was full of lies. But then I realized that I was being too judgmental because she probably wasn't trying to do anyone any harm by doing what she did. And as the day went on… she actually made me enjoy my day and have fun."

"You know, Natsume, I think this is the most I have heard you talk in a while. It's also the first time you voiced out your feelings and thoughts to me." Ruka's face had returned to its original shade already and this time, it was Natsume who blushed. "But you know what? I think she's doing you some good… you seem freer when you are with her and I haven't seen you this happy ever since we entered the gakuen and Aoi left us. The only times you even had a trace of a smile was when you received those letters from Aoi."

Natsume's eyes suddenly widened and he halted in his steps with a look of shock.

"So yeah, you— Natsume?" Ruka, finally noticing his friend wasn't beside him, turned around. Catching Natsume's expression, Ruka was startled. "Na-Natsume? What's wrong?"

"A-Aoi…" Natsume muttered under his breath. '_How could I have forgotten about Aoi?_'

"Aoi? What about Aoi?"

"I forgot all about Aoi today." Natsume finally looked up and met Ruka's eyes.

Meeting Natsume's eyes, Ruka was confused by the guilt presented in his best friend's eyes. "And? Natsume, it's okay to forget about Aoi every once in a while. I am sure Aoi wouldn't be happy if you keep sending yourself on a guilt trip because of her every single day."

"No… it's not that. I got… I got a message from Yojinbo today."

"Y-You did?" Ruka was surprised, but he felt like he's beginning to understand why Natsume is feeling guilty.

"Yeah. She said that if I complete all of my finals and have a score over 90 on all of the subjects, I would get to mail Aoi and even send my baka imouto a gift. I saw this hairpin that I wanted to get her and I was going to buy it, but then I saw Sakura and forgot all about this until now," Natsume explained as he began feeling frustrated with himself. How could he forget about his imouto so easily?

"Oh." Ruka didn't know what else to say. He knew that no matter what he said, Natsume was still going to blame himself.

Suddenly, Mikan teleported beside the duo. "Hey, are you guys okay? Why are you guys taking so long?" Noticing Natsume somber expression, she asked, "Eh? Is Hyuuga alright, Ruka-pyon?"

"G-Gomen. Natsume just remembered something, that's all."

"Oh, I see. But why is he like that? At least he remembered, it's better than forgetting about it until it's too late." Mikan instantly knew what Natsume remembered, so she decided to add some hidden message into her words that only Natsume will get.

'…_until it's too late?_' That phrase kept repeating over and over in Natsume's head. A light bulb finally turned on in Natsume's head. '_That's right! Why am I just sulking over this like a two-year-old?_'

Looking at Ruka sharply, he informed, "Hey, Ruka, I forgot to buy something, so I am going to go back to get it. I will catch up with you later!"

Before Ruka could reply, Natsume already ran off, hoping someone didn't already buy that particular accessory.

Smiling, Mikan turned to Ruka, holding out a hand for Ruka to take. "Come on, we gotta catch up with Hotaru, so let's go."

"Alright then. Thank you for snapping Natsume out of his brooding." Ruka took Mikan's hand.

"No problem, that's what friends are for." With that, the two disappeared to where Hotaru was.

* * *

**Later… with Natsume…**

Natsume was furious with himself. When he got to that store, the store owner told him that someone came and bought that hairpin that afternoon. Just because he forgot all about Aoi, he wasn't able to buy that for her. He was such a horrible brother.

Gloomily, he used his key card to open the door to his room but as he stepped forward, he felt his foot hitting against something. Looking down, Natsume found a small sized box wrapped simply with a silver ribbon. He picked it up and examined the outside before finally deciding to open it. With a tug, the ribbon loosened and Natsume carefully opened the box. Inside, there was a sheet of paper and when he took out the paper, he was met with the sight of the exact hairpin he wanted to buy. As fast as he could, without shredding the piece of paper, he opened the note. It read, "_Hey Hyuuga, I saw you looking at this and thought that you probably wanted this for Aoi, so I just bought it for you before someone else bought it. Don't worry, the payment is going to you, so you will probably get a bill soon. Good luck on you finals. –Yojinbo-san_"

'_DARN! How is she always ahead of me? And if she was there this afternoon, then does that mean she saw me hanging out with Ruka, Sakura and Imai? Is she going to tell Persona then? Ugh!_' Natsume didn't know whether he was glad or frustrated. '_Is she supposed to be an ally or an enemy?'_

* * *

**[Notes]-**

Doesn't the Mikan from the bus part resemble Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club?

Eh, I am going to sorta lessen the use of other languages and just keep it simple. :)

* * *

**A/N:** So how did you guys like this chapter? I personally thought of this as one of my most favorite chapters. Two of my most favorite lines from this chapter: ("I know… but when she is involved, I don't know what I want to do anymore… Goodness, I sound like a love-sick teenager, what is she turning me into?") and (Mikan gave Natsume a roll of her eyes. "As if I would want that. I have better people to get kisses from. Maybe if it was Ruka-pyon, I would think about it, but you are obviously not Ruka-pyon, so think of something else.")

I started writing the next chapter already, but I haven't finished it yet and since it's still in the early stages of the chapter (which means I don't have much previews, sorry), I don't really know when I am going to update next. **But usually, I am going to be updating on Friday unless it's a special occasion or something (like Christmas, New Years, and the GA characters' birthday, well only the ones I know).** Friday because it's like the least busy out of all the days. I will update as soon as I finish the next chapter, don't worry.

Sorry for the long author notes, I just wanted to tell you guys all that. I try to keep my author notes short nowadays. Anyways, I would love to hear back from you!

Happy early Easter to everyone who celebrates it! I myself don't but meh, it's still cool. I am going to see my school's Sound of Music play tomorrow afternoon with my friends (since I finally have some free time), so it's gonna be fun. :)

_**Next chapter: The Alice Festival**_

Until next time!

Best wishes always,  
Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 04/22/11  
**Edited:** 09/21/11

P.S. Natsume's sorta OCC (out of character), maybe because I am not sure, but that's the way I am gonna have him. I want to twist things up.


	14. Chapter 14: The Alice Festival

**A/N:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or added this story to their story alerts list! The story's almost reaching 100 reviews! :O I apologize for not updating for so long, but I was spending my entire summer in my home country, so I didn't have time for writing fanfics and then school started and it's been really busy already (the busiest school year so far and it's only two weeks in!), but I have been writing most of this chapter while I was supposed to be paying attention in class.

In order to compensate for my tardiness, this chapter is around 11,000 words, the longest chapter so far, and I said I was gonna try not having a 10000+ chapter in this story, darn. (I didn't feel like breaking the Alice Festival 'arc' into two chapters anyways.) Oh well, I hope you guys will have loads of fun reading this chapter! I sure had lots of fun writing it~~

* * *

**[Notes]—**

"Baka" means "idiot/fool/dummy."  
"Gomen nasai" means "Sorry" and it's a more formal version.  
"Sensei" means "teacher."  
"Doumo" means "Thank you" and it's informal and casual.  
"A-Arigato gozaimasu, minna-san" means "Thank you so much, everyone."  
"Iie" means "no."  
"Bonjour, mes copains" mean "Hi, my classmates/friends" literally.  
"Qu'est-ce que vous fâites?" means "What are you guys doing?"  
"baka onna" means "stupid woman/girl".

"**Text like this**" means the words are said in French, unless it's just like one word in a "regular text" or "_italics text_" sentence, then it just means emphasis.

Forget anything I wrote about Mikan having the SEC Alice, that's not what she has, I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote that.

I apologize in advance for any typos and grammar mistakes (especially ones dealing w/ past and present tense) that are in this chapter, I did edit it already, but I might have missed some still. I will probably go back and edit all this again soon enough.

Enjoy~~

* * *

**Chapter 14 – The Alice Festival**

* * *

**On Monday…**

"**Eh? Where is everyone going, Ruka-pyon?**" Mikan asked quietly so that only the ones close to her can hear her. The second lesson has just ended and everyone else was leaving the classroom already.

"Ah, they are going to their Alice Ability class. This entire week is going to be devoted to preparing for the Alice Festival that's starting this weekend, so we are only going to be having two lessons a day. Didn't you hear Narumi-sensei telling us about it?" Ruka explained.

"**Oh, I see. I should head to my class then.**"

"Which class will you be heading to, Mikan-chan?" Ruka asked curiously.

Mikan seemed to ponder for a moment before responding. "**Latent Ability seems too boring, so I guess Special Ability will be the better choice.**"

Ruka chuckled quietly at what Mikan said. "Alright then, I'll see you later, Mikan-chan. I'm sure you will do just fine on your own."

Mikan nodded and waved as Ruka began walking to his own ability class. Turning to look at where Natsume is, Mikan said in Japanese since everyone else was gone already. "Hyuuga, do you want to come with me to the Special Ability class since you don't seem to want to go to your own ability class?"

Natsume's eyebrow rose at that suggestion. "You do know I belong to the Dangerous Ability, right? I'm not so sure you class will welcome me even if I do come, not that I care."

Mikan shrugged. "Who cares, it's worth a try. I heard they were quite friendly."

Natsume rolled his eyes. "It's under that idiot Tsubasa, of course it's quite friendly."

"Eh? You know the teacher for my class? All the more reason for you to come, Hyuuga." Mikan feigned surprise.

"Che. Fine, since I have nothing else to do anyways," Natsume relented as he thought, '_That Persona shouldn't care too much since the meeting today isn't really mandatory._'

'_Rei probably doesn't want me to show up at Dangerous Ability yet and I feel safer if I bring someone I am familiar with when I go to my cover up ability class,_' Mikan thought as she held out her hand for Natsume to take.

Natsume complied and they were instantly in front of the Special Ability's classroom.

Sensing that something was going to come her way once she opens the door, Mikan pulled Natsume to stand in front of her before opening the door and quickly ducked behind Natsume.

"Che, what are you doing―" The words died on his lips as a flying bucket came his way and he barely caught it using his reflex before it can hit him. "Using me as a shield, little girl?"

"Of course, that's why you are here, Hyuuga," Mikan replied back without hesitance.

The people inside the room gasped when they saw who were in their doorway.

"Na-Natsume? What are you doing here?" a voice exclaimed down the hallway.

Mikan and Natsume looked over and found a black-haired guy with a star under his eye.

"Because this―" Natsume pointed at Mikan. "―little girl wanted me to come with her, Shadow."

Finally taking notice of the figure next to the fire user, a friendly smile appeared on Tsubasa's face. "Ah, could this be our new student, Sakura Mikan?"

Mikan timidly nodded as she hugged her teddy bear close to her chest.

"Well, I am Andou Tsubasa, and I am one of the instructors of the special ability class," Tsubasa introduced as he stopped in front of Mikan.

"Nice to meet you, Andou-sensei," Mikan said with a greeting bow.

"Eh? Don't be so formal, Mikan-chan, is it okay to call you that? Just call me Tsubasa, that's what everyone else calls me anyways." Tsubasa scratched his hair before a flying object came his way and hit his head squarely. "Ouch! Misaki! What was that for?"

"You were late!" A woman's voice shouted from inside the room. Mikan and Natsume turned to see the source and they were met with the sight of a pink-haired woman. The woman began stalking over to where Tsubasa was.

Stopping in front of Tsubasa, Misaki mercilessly whacked Tsubasa's head before turning to face Mikan. Her previously annoyed expression quickly changed to that of a jovial one. "You actually came, Sakura-chan! I am the second teacher of this class, Harada Misaki. We weren't sure whether you were coming or not since your Alices allow you to choose which ability class to go to. Special Ability class doesn't have the best reputation after all."

Mikan shrugged and replied softly, "Special Ability seemed more fun to go to."

"You sure got that right," Tsubasa declared proudly as he laid an arm over Mikan's shoulders and Mikan quickly stiffened before teleporting away to the other side of Natsume. Tsubasa looked surprised for a moment before his expression changed to that of a dumbfounded one and he retracted his fallen arm. "Eh?"

A tint of red appeared on Mikan's high cheekbones, but she stayed silent.

Misaki whacked Tsubasa's head while scolding, "You baka, Tsubasa, didn't you read that file?"

"Ow! What are you talking about? What file?" Tsubasa clutched the forming bump on his head.

"She has xenophobia, you baka shadow," Natsume replied with a scoff.

"Eh? Xenophobia? What's that?" Tsubasa looked even more confused.

Misaki held up her hand and looked like she was ready to hit Tsubasa again.

"Hold on, Misaki! I really don't know anything! You might have gotten a file, but I never got one!" Tsubasa protested as both his arm covered his entire head to protect himself from the wrath of Misaki's fist.

Misaki stopped midway through her attack, blinking owlishly. "Are you serious?"

"Of course!" Quickly turning to face Mikan, who was still hiding behind Natsume, he bowed in an apologetic manner. "Gomen nasai, Mikan-chan! I didn't know that!"

Leaning back up, he added, "But what is xenophobia?"

The students in the classroom wanted to face fault at the stupidity of their sensei.

"What? It's not as if I am going to know what each and every phobia is!" Tsubasa protested.

'_He has a point, but still! Why is our sensei such a baka?_' the students thought.

Natsume sighed in exasperation, but he answered anyways, "It's the fear of strangers."

"Ohhh, okay, doumo Natsume-kun." Tsubasa turned to face Mikan again. "So, Mikan-chan, come on in! We decided that we were going to have party ready for you just in case even though the chances that you'd come were slim ~"

Just as Tsubasa said that, party poppers were heard and directed at Mikan. A big cheer of "Welcome to the Special Ability class, Sakura Mikan-san!" was heard.

Although Mikan already knew about the surprise, she was still startled by their warm welcome and a blush covered her cheeks. "A-Arigato gozaimasu, minna-san."

As if just realizing something, Misaki gasped. "Wait, didn't they mention that you'd only be speaking in French?"

Mikan tilted her head to the side, feeling more confident. "Eh? Didn't they mention it you two?"

"Mention what?" Tsubasa piped in.

"That I can speak Japanese perfectly fine, but I just feel more comfortable speaking French, so I choose to speak French instead…"

"Eh? Really?" Misaki was surprised, the other teachers never told her that! Did everyone except for her and Tsubasa know?

Mikan nodded before grabbing ahold of the sleeve of Natsume's shirt and easily dragged him with her as she walked into the classroom, marveling at the various decorations placed around the room, especially the "Welcome, Sakura Mikan" sign that was hung across the room.

"So… do you like it?" Tsubasa appeared by the doorway and crossed his arms with an anticipating smile.

Mikan nodded enthusiastically with a huge smile. "Arigato gozaimasu!"

Tsubasa had on a satisfied smile. "As long as you like it~ So let's party then!"

* * *

**After the party…**

"So… do you guys have anything in mind for the Alice Festival, Misaki-sensei, Tsubasa-sensei?" Mikan asked as she nibbled on a piece of rice cracker. The rest of the class was cleaning up, but at the insistence of the others, Mikan wasn't helping them. When asked why, they said, "You are supposed to be the guest of honor!"

Tsubasa flinched before replying with a cover-up smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Iie, it is quite difficult to form something like that with such different Alices, especially Alices that don't have any common grounds. And it's not as if anyone is going to be visiting our attraction anyways."

"Alices with no common grounds, huh," Mikan thought out loud to herself and suddenly, a light bulb lit up in her head. "How about we do a role-playing game slash maze where each of us are the opponents that the students have to defeat?"

Everyone perked up at that idea, even Natsume, who was sitting on a window sill, was listening intently.

"Wow! That might actually work! How come we have never thought of that?" Tsubasa exclaimed, practically glowing with excitement.

"That's because you guys are idiots," Natsume said without mercy.

Tsubasa sweat-dropped before clapping his hands together. "Well then, let's get working! We are going to be really busy!"

* * *

**A few days later…**

"Hooray!"

Everyone was celebrating the opening of their RPG game, which is now called "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp." Party poppers burst open everywhere and confetti was littered everywhere.

Meanwhile, Mikan just sat on top of a nearby table watching everyone's celebration and Natsume was leaning against the same table, his face emotionless as ever, but there was a glitter of happiness in his eyes. He has been helping out the whole time and surprisingly, Persona didn't send him on a mission even once nor was Natsume able to sense Persona's presence anywhere near him during this duration of time. However, in reality, Persona was always nearby, but he stuck to the shadows and watched over Mikan without interfering since that was Mikan's request of him. She wanted Natsume to enjoy the festival to its fullest.

Tsubasa clapped his hands to get everyone to quiet down and focus on him. "Alright, alright, everyone, let's settle down! Let's get into positions and we will open up the maze for everyone!"

"Hai, Tsubasa!" Everyone with the exception of Natsume and Mikan replied back enthusiastically.

"Hey, Natsume, you wanna come join me?" Mikan whispered quietly and then gestured towards the exit of the gym. "Or do you wanna go now?"

Natsume just shrugged.

Mikan rolled her eyes at Natsume's lack of an answer. "I am leaving you."

Mikan jumped off the table and began to skip over to the maze's exit, since that's where her station is, but she was stopped by a hand around her wrist. When she looked back, it was Natsume's hand.

"I will come with you," Natsume said emotionlessly.

Mikan smiled knowingly and moved her hand so that she was holding hands with Natsume. "Alright then, let's go~ You and I will be the final genie alternately."

Natsume just nodded as he allowed himself to be led by her willingly, his eyes focused on the link between them.

After settling down on the magic carpet, Mikan began hearing a bustle outside the gym. It was composed of several middle school students and they seemed to be traveling towards the Somatic Ability area. To hear them better, Mikan used the super hearing Alice that she copied.

"Ah…. Lina-chan… I can't wait to see her― Hey, isn't that the Special Ability class's attraction?" one asked.

"Yeah it is, I heard that Hyuuga-senpai has been helping them out and is even going to be part of the attraction," another replied.

"Isn't that new girl also part of this class?" a third asked.

"Oh yeah! That's right, Sakura Mikan is her name, isn't it?" the first exclaimed. "I wonder if she's in there as well."

"Wanna go check it out? I wanna see who the girl that everyone keeps talking about is!" the third suggested as he paused in his steps and stared at the gym.

"But what about Lina-chan?" the second questioned, but he didn't seem unwilling to go along with the suggestion.

"Well, isn't Lina-chan going to be there for the whole day?" the third retorted, beginning to walk towards the gym building. "Sakura-senpai is the hot topic in the entire school right now, especially after she completed that Northern Forest mission so easily!"

"What if their attraction is really crappy though? They've always failed!" the first protested.

Mikan smiled slyly at that. '_They are going to be easy to impress. After this, everyone will recognize the Special Ability class._'

"Who cares, we are not even there to check out their attraction, we are just there to see if Hyuuga-senpai is really there and what Sakura-senpai looks like," the third shouted back as he opened the door the gym and his friends sprinted towards him.

"Welcome to Aladdin and the Magic Lamp!" Tsubasa and several other Special Ability students shouted in welcome.

Mikan deactivated her Alice and jumped off the 'magical' carpet that she was on. Natsume looked up from his reading with a questioning look.

"There seems to be some customers right now, I am going to go out to greet them and make sure that they are going to participate in our game," Mikan answered.

Natsume nodded in understanding and went back to reading his manga.

Mikan went out the exit and entered the entrance area of their attraction.

"Ah, Mikan-chan! Why are you out here?" Misaki asked curiously, looking over the heads of the three middle-school students.

"I heard the new customers and just wanted to come out to welcome them," Mikan replied with a sweet smile.

Hearing Mikan's name, the three middle school students turned around to take a look at their infamous senpai. Instantly, their eyes literally turned heart-shaped and the other Special Ability students that were present couldn't help but sweat-drop.

"**Bonjour, are you guys here to try out our attraction?**" Mikan asked after giving her underclassmen a greeting bow.

Suddenly, a manga went flying towards Mikan's head, but Mikan expertly caught it between two fingers.

"Are you a baka? They won't understand you if you talk in French," Natsume scolded with a roll of his eyes as he came behind Mikan and retrieved his manga.

Mikan turned around with a pout. "That wasn't nice, Hyuuga, what if that manga hit me?"

Natsume scowled. "As if that would happen."

Mikan gave him a smile before turning back to face the middle school students. "I am Sakura Mikan; it's nice to meet you all. Would you like to try out our attraction? It would definitely be worth your time and money."

Without even thinking, the three middle school students nodded their head furiously, completely forgetting about their 'beloved' Lina-chan that they were going to see and the fact that this Sakura Mikan shouldn't be able to speak Japanese so fluently.

Turning towards Tsubasa and Misaki, Mikan gave them a gracious smile. "Let's get them some tickets and tools, sensei. Be sure to collect their money as well. I should go back to my station then."

With another bow, Mikan turned around, latched onto Natsume's hand when she walked past him and headed back to the exit of the maze.

* * *

**An hour later…**

Words have spread like wild fire across the campus and you could barely see where the line ended from the entrance of the gym. After several students, including those middle school students, tried out the RPG game at the 'persuasion' of Mikan, they got addicted and told their friends about this "super fun" and "addictive" game. Then after those friends tried it, they told other friends and soon, almost everyone on campus was talking about the success of the Special Ability class and how fun this RPG game was. But so far, only Narumi has been able to reach Mikan and Natsume and of course, no one has been able to get past Mikan and Natsume.

"Hey, Hyuuga!" Mikan suddenly called out when she felt someone entering the shield that she placed around the Hanahime Den.

Natsume looked up at him from his manga at Mikan, who was sitting on the same carpet as him since there weren't any challengers at their station yet, in a silent inquiry.

"I need to go take care of something, so I will be back in half an hour, but I doubt I will really be in need since I don't think that many people are going to get to us anyways. So you will be fine on your own, right?" Although this was posed as a question, the tone that Mikan used didn't seem to let any further arguments be made.

Natsume rolled his eyes and kept his suspicion to himself. He muttered a "Whatever." before returning to his manga, but his senses were still solely focused on Mikan.

"Bye then," Mikan said before disappearing.

As soon as Natsume couldn't sense Mikan's presence anymore, he took out an electronic device with an LCD screen, but he couldn't find the red dot that he was looking for. He whacked the device against his hand a few times, but there were still no traces of that red dot.

In truth, Natsume had placed a tracker on Mikan when he had the chance and the device he was holding was the GPS that was supposed to show him where Mikan was presently, but as he can see, the tracker and GPS seemed to have failed him. And since he can't rise Mikan's suspicion by not being here whenever Mikan decides to show up, he can't track her himself.

'_Ugh! And I am supposed to be the best Dangerous Ability student out there! How can I even call myself that when I can't even track one little, idiotic girl named Sakura Mikan?_' But then again, he knew this wasn't supposed to be easy. Because if it was, the High School Principal wouldn't recruit him into this mission himself and tell him to keep this a secret from everyone, especially the Dangerous Ability class.

But suddenly, the dot that was nowhere to be found appeared on the screen and Natsume's eyes immediately brightened up. However, his bright mood dimmed the moment he saw the location of the dot. The red dot is exactly where the black dot is and that black dot is the location of this device.

Throwing the device onto the magic carpet, his now-empty hands searched everywhere on his body until he was met with a slight lump that's out of place. Detaching the tracker from his back, his only thought was, '_She knew I had a tracker on her and she wanted me to know, but how the hell did she get this on me without me noticing?_'

* * *

**With Mikan…**

Mikan smiled in amusement as she watched the scene that's displayed in her crystal ball. '_What will you do now, Kuro Neko?_'

Hearing footsteps from the end of the hall, Mikan teleported the crystal ball away and crossed her arms in front of her with her back leaning against the wall. Mikan was not in her costume for the Aladdin game maze anymore. Instead, she was in a black yukata with white butterflies as its pattern. Her hair was also tied up in a high ponytail with a black ribbon.

Seeing a figure leaning against the wall in this hallway, as opposed to the nothing that he was used to seeing, the figure at the end of the hall focused his attention solely on Mikan. When he saw that it was an almost-perfect replica of Azumi Yuka, his eyes couldn't help but widen in surprise even though he was half-expecting to see her.

'_So my instinct was correct after all, there is something secretive going on in the Hanahime Den and Himemiya-sama knows more than she's letting on,'_ the figure thought to himself as he walked closer and closer to Mikan.

"You really should stop going into places you are not supposed to enter, Shiki Masachika," Mikan scolded with a small relaxed smile when Shiki was only a few steps away.

Shiki stopped at the wall in front of Mikan and adopted Mikan's position. "I don't recall being told that, Sakura-san, and can't the same be said for you?"

"Ah, but this is _my_ territory, Shiki-san." Mikan looked into Shiki's eyes and Shiki did the same.

""Your" territory?" Shiki repeated. "If I recall, the Hanahime Palace belongs to Himemiya-sama and this den is part of the Hanahime Palace."

"But things have changed. This place's entrance might be in the Hanahime Palace, but no one can force their way in and the only ones who can go in or out are those that _**I**_ allow." Mikan had on a smirk.

Shiki got what she implied. He only got this far because she allowed it and unless she permitted, he can't go back out. But that's not where his concern lies. "You have the stealing Alice and you know how to use it perfectly well. Not only that, but you are just like me, your body can accept any Alice stones."

Mikan's smirk got bigger. "You are very smart, but you have missed a point or two."

"A point or two? What do you mean?" Shiki asked, curiosity brewing within him.

Mikan had on a secretive smile as she said, "If I told you everything, then all the fun will be gone!"

Knowing he wouldn't get anymore answers from the girl, Shiki decided to move to a different topic. "How come I didn't see you until now? I am sure I have walked through this hallway at least once before."

"Because I was occupied by the Alice Festival, of course. After all, it is the Special Ability's first successful attraction at the festival and I must admit, we are more successful than I predicted." A pleased smile appeared on Mikan's face.

A suspicion rose in Shiki. "Are you really part of the Special Ability class?"

"Of course! Why would you think otherwise?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you have the Stealing Alice?" Shiki said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, which was really uncharacteristic of him.

Mikan started giggling at Shiki's sarcasm. "Oh my, I must inform Himemiya-sama about this! She won't believe it!"

Shiki grimaced at the thought, but then another thought occurred to him. "You've heard about me from Himemiya-sama?"

Mikan nodded as she stood up straight, leaning away from the wall.

'_Of course… how did that thought get skipped over in my mind?_' Shiki thought with a mental smack to his forehead. '_I wonder what their relationship is… They seem close, but __**how**__ close?_'

Mikan grinned as she gently stepped towards Shiki. "Shiki-san, unlike you, I need to return to the festival, so it's time for you to leave. Would you like me to show you the way out or would you rather find the way out yourself?"

Shiki carefully weighed the two options. Finding a way out of this never-ending maze for an indefinite amount of time didn't seem appetizing to him at all. He knew he would have no chance at finding something new or secretive since he's been wandering around for a few hours already and all he's seen are unending hallways that hold nothing but emptiness except for the natural decorum. So, he naturally chose the latter. "I would appreciate it if you can show me the way out."

Mikan gave him a pleasant smile before placing a hand on his shoulder and in no time at all, they were both standing by the entrance of the Hanahime Den.

"Well, you know the way out and if you want to, you are welcomed to go visit Himemiya-sama before you leave, I am sure she's half expecting you," Mikan informed as she began to fade away again. "See you soon, Shiki-san. Oh, and do say hello to Azumi Yuka-san for me."

Without waiting for a reply, Mikan completely faded away.

* * *

**After the Alice Festival ended for the day…**

Several patterned knocks that formed a secret code was heard from the doors of the office.

"Come in," the leader of the group of people inside called out as everyone else stopped whatever they were doing and looked up, waiting for the arrival of their newest member.

One of the doors opened and the figure of a black-haired boy wearing the high school uniform stepped into the room before gently closing the door.

"Welcome, Hyuuga-san, did you have any problems coming here?" the leader asked while Natsume headed to an empty seat.

Natsume shook his head negative as he sat down and swept his eyes over the other people inside the room. There were three other people besides the leader, but he was only able to recognize one person while the other two seemed familiar to him.

"Alright." Gesturing to the other people in the room, he began introducing, "He is Shiki Masachika-san, she is Azumi Yuka-san, and as you should already know, he is Jinno-sensei." Natsume nodded in acknowledgement as the leader faced Shiki and Yuka. "This here is Hyuuga Natsume-san and he's a first year in the high school, but he's also in the Dangerous Ability class. He's in the same class as Sakura Mikan-san and thus, I have asked him to help us keep track of her."

"Is he the son of Kaoru-senpai, Yukihira-kouchou?" Yuka asked with slight surprise as she carefully examined Natsume, comparing the features of Kaoru and him inside her head.

Natsume looked at her in a rare moment of shock. "You know my okaasan?"

Yuka nodded with a secretive smile. "Of course, she's my best friend."

Natsume had various questions swimming through his head, but he didn't voice any of them and just nodded.

"So what were you guys able to find out today?" Yukihira Kazumi, the high school principal and the leader of the group, questioned as he folded his hands together and placed his chin atop his joined hands. "How about you first, Hyuuga-san?"

"While I was working with Sakura today, she left for a little while, but beforehand, I placed a tracker on her. However, once she was gone, the device didn't work for a while and when the tracker finally showed up; it was exactly where the device was. I found the tracker on my body."

Everyone's face turned thoughtful.

"How was she able to get it on you without you realizing?" Kazu questioned.

"I have no idea." Natsume shrugged. Inside Natsume's head, turmoil was occurring, but he covered it with a nonchalant and emotionless mask.

"Is it possible that she could have gotten the tracker on you by teleportation?" Shiki quietly and calmly inquired.

"I suppose." Natsume thought about the new possibility since he has been thinking in the direction of the girl placing it on him manually instead of using Alices. Plus, he's not too thrilled to admit that his unparalleled skills was just upped by someone that just popped out of nowhere, so he liked this new idea more.

"Alright, how about you, Shiki-san? Did you have any luck with that lead you said you had?"

Shiki nodded and began explaining about his meet-up with Mikan that afternoon.

When he was done, he was met with a brief silence before Kazu spoke up, "So we are sure she has the nullification Alice, teleportation Alice, stealing Alice, and inserting Alice, but there's something more than that. Also, we have no way of knowing how many Alices she's inserted into her body."

"Is it possible for us to get more information on her from Himemiya-sama since they seem to have a close relationship?" Yuka suggested with an unreadable look in her eyes.

"No, because after that chance meeting with Mikan-san, I visited Himemiya-sama and when I inquired about Mikan-san, she said, "Even if you are my relative, Masachika, I won't be giving you any information about Mikan no Kimi," so I doubt Himemiya-sama will be of any help."

'_He's relatives with the middle school principal?_' Natsume thought in surprise. '_And I would have never thought Jinno would be in something like this…_'

"Is there any other way we can get more information on Sakura then?" Jinno spoke up for the first time since Natsume stepped into the room.

"Well, we can always send someone from her class to befriend her besides Hyuuga-san..." Kazu suggested.

"How about Narumi? He would be―" Jinno was cut off by an abrupt "No!" from none other than Azumi Yuka.

All the eyes in the room turned to look at Yuka, waiting for an explanation.

"We can't get him involved in this and we especially can't let him know I am inside the gakuen," Yuka said with a clouded expression.

"Well, it's too late for that now, Yuka-senpai," a new voice spoke up as the door opened wider and the owner of the voice stepped in.

'_How did he open the door without us knowing?_' Natsume exclaimed inside his head as his, along with everyone else's, eyes widened in shock at the unexpected visitor/interruption.

'_I thought I told him to not appear in front of Yuka-san yet!_' Kazu thought, already foreseeing the ultimatum that Yuka will be giving him.

"N-Naru?" Yuka was the most shocked out of them all. "H-How long have you been here?"

"Ever since Natsume got here," Narumi said coldly with a hard expression as he walked towards a wall and leaned against it with his arms crossed in front of his chest. He was dressed in a rather regular outfit, a white long-sleeved dress shirt with black slacks. He was giving off a cold and detached aura, one that Natsume would have never associated with Narumi.

Then a realization dawned on Natsume as disbelief etched itself onto his expression. "You followed me here without me noticing?"

Narumi stared at Natsume with a nonchalant look. "Yes."

"How?" Natsume had always thought of himself as an undefeated agent and that he was the best at what he did besides the obvious Persona, but more and more people are proving him wrong these days.

Seeing as Narumi isn't going to reply, Yuka supplied, "Naru was the school's best agent when he was still a student."

Natsume would have never thought Narumi was an agent, especially since he always seemed so foolish and carefree, but in a way, it made sense since the human pheromone Alice is a very useful one during missions. But Natsume wondered who the real Narumi is? The one that is standing before Natsume right now or the Narumi that Natsume has familiarized himself with ever since he started schooling here?

* * *

**Somewhere else in the gakuen…**

"Mikan?" a man's voice called out some distance away.

Eyes shooting a quick glance at the opened doors, Mikan swiftly closed the application window that she was watching a video feed through and opened up a pre-existing window of the document that she was looking at before the video feed started. Once she was done, she answered, "I am in the office!"

Within seconds, Rei was standing by the door dressed in a black long-sleeved turtle-necked shirt and black slacks without his mask and make-up. Rei headed towards Mikan right away.

"How did the meeting today go?" Mikan asked Rei, her eyes still focused on the document.

"Horrible. They were as stuck-up as always," Rei replied with distaste as he stood next to Mikan and looked over her shoulder.

Finally tearing her eyes from the screen, Mikan chuckled and met Rei's eyes. Mikan stood up and gave Rei his usual greeting hug. "I guess everything went well then."

Rei nodded as he finally broke away from the hug and sat down on the chair, pulling Mikan down with him so that she sat on him. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he settled his chin on her shoulder before asking, "So what are you working on?"

"Just going over some documents," Mikan partially lied easily as she leaned back, finding a comfortable spot to rest in before returning some of her attention to the screen.

Rei nodded again. "So anything new?"

Having finished checking the document, Mikan closed that one and turned off her computer since she was done for the day. "Yes, Shiki was in the Den today."

Rei narrowed her eyes at the new piece of information. "Was he able to find anything?"

"Yup!" Rei became tenser. "A never-ending maze!"

Rei became relaxed instantly as he bit on the exposed piece of skin on her neck as a punishment.

"Ouch! What was that for!" Mikan exclaimed with a pout as her hand flew up to touch the tender and reddened spot on her neck.

"For being a dramatic fool," Rei said bluntly with a smirk as he examined his beautiful piece of work.

Mikan swung her hand down on Rei's forearm with a mock glare. "You are horrible! Now I have to go cover it up!"

Rei's eyes darkened with mischief. "No, as a punishment, you are not allowed to cover it up."

Mikan's face was incredulous. "Are you serious?"

Rei nodded with a half-serious, half-amused look.

"And if I don't comply?" Mikan challenged.

"Then…" All of a sudden, Rei's arm loosened around her and began tickling her mercilessly. "…this will happen."

Mikan began laughing so hard that tears were piling up in the corner of her eyes as her arms flailed around, trying to stop Rei from tickling her, but the keyword is 'try.' Soon, Mikan couldn't take it anymore and succumbed to his wishes. "Fine! Fine! I won't cover it up!"

Mikan's words were occasionally interrupted with her laughter, but Rei heard it loud and clear. Rei stopped his tickling, but his hands were posed to continue the 'torture' at any moment. "Promise?"

Mikan was breathless as she nodded frantically. "Yes, yes, I promise, just stop the tickling."

"Okay." Rei's arms went around Mikan's waist protectively once again.

They just stayed in silence for a few moments before Mikan asked, "Did you have dinner yet?"

"No, I was hoping you would feed me," Rei responded cheekily.

"After what you just did? No way!" Mikan stuck her tongue out at him.

Rei had on a pout. "Come on, Mikan, please?"

Mikan smirked. "No."

Rei's nose began nuzzling the crook of Mikan's neck, which tickled Mikan a little. "Please, Mikan? You know you can't stand to see me go to sleep hungry."

Mikan tried to maintain a serious expression as she said, with a faux annoyed tone, "Then go cook your own food! You know how to cook yourself!"

Rei continued his ministrations with a knowing smile, he was sure she would relent soon. To give an extra push, his tongue darted out and licked her skin.

A small moan left Mikan's mouth and when she realized what she did, a crimson red appeared on Mikan's cheeks. "H-Hey, s-stop i-it, R-Rei! This is going too far!"

Rei smirked as one hand trailed up while the other trailed down. "Is it?"

Feeling his hands move and knowing where they were headed, Mikan's arms quickly darted to stop him.

"Stop, Rei, I am serious, Please―" Mikan was interrupted by her own moan as Rei's tongue and teeth went over a particularly pleasurable spot.

"I am not the one that started this all…" Rei whispered seductively into her ear before licking behind her ear.

Another moan exited Mikan's lips. "I was half-asleep; it's so not my fault. You didn't seem so resisting yourself."

"Yeah, sure. When have I ever been able to resist you anyways? Can you really blame me?" Rei's eyes darkened, but after giving a final lick to Mikan's ear, Rei stopped and got up, holding Mikan princess style while doing so. Rei placed Mikan back in the chair before heading towards the door. When he was almost out the door, he paused, turning around as he did so and stared into Mikan's slightly hazed eyes. He added, "Plus, if you really thought this was going too far and wanted me to stop, you could have easily gotten away."

Knowing the truth of his words, Mikan turned her head away, breaking the stare contest between the two.

Rei smiled sadly before turning back towards the wall. When he was some distance away, he called out, "I am going to go shower, please do have something for me to eat by then."

Once she heard Rei entering the elevator with the doors promptly closing, Mikan allowed a lone tear to trail down her cheek.

"The relationship we have now is perfect, why do you want to change it so much, Rei?" Mikan whispered to no one.

* * *

**Two days later…**

"Bonjour, mes copains!" Mikan greeted in a cheerful voice with a large, joyful smile when she saw her classmates standing by the senior division school building. "Qu'est-ce que vous fâites?"

Hotaru looked up from her floating invention table. "We are waiting for the others to arrive so that we can go see the Somatic class's musical play together."

"Would you like to come with us, Mikan-chan?" Nonoko asked with a friendly smile.

Mikan nodded with a smile. Turning to Hotaru, she asked, "**Where is the play?**"

"The second hall in the senior division," Hotaru replied as she pressed a button located on the edge of the inventing table. Immediately, the table packed itself up and turned into a one inch brief case, landing on Hotaru's outstretched hand. "Why?"

"**I can teleport us there if you guys want,**" Mikan suggested.

"Sure." Hotaru shrugged, but she wasn't able to keep her curiosity at bay anymore. "**Where were you yesterday?**"

"**I was exploring the Alice Festival, of course**," Mikan replied with sureness in her voice.

"**How come I didn't see you anywhere?**" One of the main reasons Hotaru was so curious about it was because the surveillance camera that she placed around the school wasn't able to catch Mikan anywhere around school the entire day yesterday. Hotaru had implanted a face and voice recognition system within her surveillance cameras so that she could locate the people she wanted to find easily without having to check every single surveillance recording, but when she was searching for Mikan yesterday night, the system came up with nothing.

"**We probably just kept missing each other.**" Mikan added a shrug to her response.

"**I suppose.**" Knowing no further answers will come out of this topic, Hotaru dropped it.

* * *

**Backstage of the play…**

Mikan arrived at the door that was labeled "Staff Only" with Hotaru, Nonoko, Koko, Kitsuneme and Natsume, who Mikan had pulled in when she saw him walk past.

Seeing the sign that told people the play's name, Hotaru remarked, "So it's "The Sleeping Snow White in the Woods" again this year, huh."

"**Again?**" Mikan questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Yes, the Somatic Class has various plays that they do for the Alice Festival on a routine. Sometimes, a new play is created, but other times, it's a play that they have used in the past with a few changes here and there," Hotaru explained as she led them into the room labeled "Staff Only."

"Snow White!" Everyone with the exception of Mikan, Hotaru and Natsume shouted when they saw Ruka dressed up as Snow White.

"I thought I told you guys _not_ to come!" Ruka protested, but no one paid attention to it.

"**Isn't Snow White supposed to have black hair though?**" Mikan questioned as she watched her classmates headed towards Ruka, who was beginning to hide, and Hotaru, who didn't waste a single moment and began taking photos of a blushing Ruka.

Hotaru shrugged in response as she checked on the photos she took to see if they were any good.

"**Hotaru-chan, if I were able to get Ruka to stand up and let you take body shots of him, can you give me a copy of each photo for free?**" Mikan asked with a sly smile.

Hotaru raised her eyebrow in curiosity as she calculated the profit of full body shots and reaching a more than satisfying conclusion, Hotaru nodded and stepped back, wanting to watch how Mikan would be able to achieve that.

"**Great!**" Mikan exclaimed as she walked towards Ruka. Kneeling down next to Ruka, Mikan used her hand to lift up Ruka's chin and looked into Ruka's eyes. "**Don't be so shy, Ruka-pyon!**"

Ruka blushed in response.

Leaning closer to Ruka's ear so that no one overhears them, Mikan whispered, "**Can you do me a favor, Ruka-pyon?**"

"**What is it?**" Ruka switched to his native tongue, something that he hasn't done in quite a while, since he could sense Mikan's intention to keep this conversation private between the two of them.

"**If you let Hotaru-chan take full body shots of you, I will help you and Hotaru-chan get together~ But you'd have to not doubt me,**" Mikan offered with a bright smile.

Ruka was so red that even his neck was red. Ruka sputtered out nonsense for quite a while before finally managing to form a coherent sentence, "**W-What a-are you t-talking a-about?**"

"**Don't think that I don't know what is going on between you two. You guys should just get together already~!**" Mikan said quietly as she shot a glance at Hotaru, who looked curious and just slightly aggravated, but no one took notice since all their attention was focused on Mikan and Ruka.

"**Y-You are mis-mistaken, Mikan-chan!**" Ruka cried out, not knowing what to do.

"**Shh. Shhh. Hush. We wouldn't want Hotaru to overhear us now, would we?**" Mikan had on a sly smile while Ruka shot a quick look at Hotaru over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't listening.

"**B-But there's nothing going on between Imai and I,**" Ruka whispered persistently into Mikan's ear.

Lacing her voice with the voice pheromone Alice, which was her intention from the start, she commanded in a sugar sweet voice with a twisted smile that others couldn't see, "**You will stand up and allow Imai to take full body shots of you until I tell you to stop.**"

Ruka's eyes widened as his body stood up stiffly against his will and Mikan stood up along with him.

"**Relax. However, you will not speak a work of this to anyone,**" Mikan added with a wink before turning around to face Hotaru with a sweet smile. "**Hotaru-chan, he's all yours~**"

Hotaru's eyes were a fraction bigger, but she quickly shook off her surprise and began taking pictures of Ruka without hesitation.

Mikan walked towards a nearby wall with a bounce in her steps, but as she passed by Natsume, she was stopped by a hand around her elbow.

Natsume's eyes were focused intently on Ruka before relocating to Mikan. "What did you do to Ruka?"

"Nothing much, just a little persuasion was all it took. He _is_ a very compliant guy after all," Mikan said with a chuckle in the end, laughing at her own personal joke.

Natsume narrowed his eyes at Mikan, not believing her excuse/explanation, but he didn't say anything.

Mikan ignored the silent questions his eyes were directing at her. "I would appreciate it if you were to release my arm, Hyuuga."

A fire was lit in mid-air near the ends of Mikan's hair. "Tell me what you did to Ruka."

With a smirk, Mikan easily nullified Natsume's fire as she responded, "Why don't you ask him yourself, Hyuuga?"

"Tell me, Sakura."

"What if I say no? What are you going to do?" Mikan challenged, her stare unwavering.

"I am going to make your life hell," Natsume responded with menace.

"I would like to see you try, Hyuuga," Mikan mocked with a smirk.

"You will regret this, Sakura."

Mikan shrugged before teleporting away and reappeared in front of Ruka, which blocked Hotaru from taking any more pictures of Ruka. "**Ruka-pyon, that's enough. You should go back to preparing for your performance.**"

As if snapped out of a trance, Ruka blinked owlishly and realizing what just happened, a sea of red flooded his face. At the same time, a shout of "Watch out!" resounded in the background, making everyone, excluding Mikan, turn to see what happened.

They weren't prepared to see what caused the crash. The drop curtain's hook had somehow come loose and crashed into a nearby spotlight and several other objects before landing on the ground with several loud thuds.

Seeing a kid walking under the falling curtain, Natsume quickly darted out and grabbed the kid by the hand, effectively avoiding the curtain from falling on them.

However, what nobody foresaw was Koko pulling out his box of "Powerful Slime Balls" that he bought from the Technical Class prank shop main office and showing them off to Sumire and Kitsuneme. From the physical impact of the crashing and the heat impact of the broken spotlights, several explosions of the slime balls occurred, causing various forms of "sticky" situations that would last for about an hour.

Mikan easily teleported away with Ruka to a safer location to avoid any of the slime getting on her and Ruka.

He then began explaining the new plan with his usual flare and conducted damage control.

Mikan, who was watching over the proceedings with Ruka on the catwalk that was situated over the stage, smiled at the confirmation she got. '_Narumi-sensei, you might be good, but I am better. Though I hope you will do a good job from hereon out._'

"Mikan-chan, what did you do to me?" Ruka questioned, his eyes look at Mikan intently.

Mikan turned to look at Ruka with an innocent smile. "Nothing much, just a little use of my Alice."

"What Alice are you hiding from us?" Ruka might be naïve, but he wasn't naïve enough to believe Mikan's show of innocence.

"You will know soon enough." Mikan turned her eyes back to Narumi, who was declaring himself to be the hunter and the Fukutan to be the queen.

Finally noticing the missing Snow White, Narumi called out, "Ruka-kun~ Ruka-kun~ 3"

"**We are up here, Narumi-sensei!**" Mikan replied in place of Ruka as she swung her feet several times, waiting for Narumi to look up.

When Narumi finally looked up, he gave her a meaningful look. "You only saved Ruka-kun from that hazard?" At Mikan's shrug, Narumi switched direction. "But at least you saved one of our main characters~ 3"

Without a warning, Mikan grabbed ahold of Ruka's hand and pulled him down with her when she jumped. Ruka let out a startle yelp while Natsume watched in shock, wanting to go save his best friend, but unable to because of his current situation. However, Mikan landed with perfected expertise and caught Ruka in her arms princess-style, which caused Ruka to blush and various girls to swoon.

Narumi whistled in amusement at the display and declared, "Looks like we found our prince~ 3"

Mikan shrugged nonchalantly as she gently placed Ruka back on his feet and steadied him, which only added more hearts into the eyes of the onlookers, even Sumire was looking at her dreamily.

The Fukutan then inputted, "B-But S-Sakura-san doesn't speak Japanese."

Narumi placed his forefinger on his chin in a thinking pose. "Hmm… that's true, but―"

"No, she can speak Japanese just fine," Natsume interrupted with a smirk.

Narumi shot a look of surprise at Natsume before giving a questioning look to Mikan who only shrugged again in response as if to say "it's up to you."

Shooting a reproachful look towards Mikan at leaving the decision to him, Narumi released a sigh before facing the questioning looks directed at him. "No, unlike what Natsume-kun is saying, Mikan-chan will be playing the prince while speaking French, but I am sure Hotaru-chan has something that can help Mikan speak fluent Japanese."

Natsume was dumbfounded, what was Narumi saying? "Naru―"

Shooting a dark look at Natsume, Narumi was able to silence Natsume from saying anything else. Turning back to Hotaru, Narumi sent her a question look along with a smile.

Hotaru nodded as she pulled out a hook-on microphone and a device that has speakers from a bag that appeared out of nowhere. "Yes, this here is invention #145, and you can speak any language into it and it will come out in the language that you desire. It hooks onto your ear and you can also choose the accent that you want."

Mikan took the earphone from Hotaru and placed it on before looking at Hotaru for the next set of direction.

"I am going to choose a Kyoto-accent for you, is that okay?" Hotaru questioned as she began fiddling with the device.

"**Yes, that's fine**," Mikan replied.

Once she was done, Hotaru looked up and said, "It should work now."

Mikan had on a sweet smile as she said her next words in fluent Japanese with a Kyoto-accent, "Since I am going to be a prince, Hyuuga will also help out by playing one of the dwarf's cat best friend since his hand is stuck with that little boy's. We wouldn't want that boy's hard work to go to waste just because of some insensitive jerk's reluctance, would we?"

Hotaru nodded in satisfaction.

Narumi thought about it for a moment while Natsume directed a death glare at Mikan and Narumi. On the other hand, the little boy was staring up at Natsume with begging puppy dog eyes. "Alright, Natsume-kun will be the dwarf's cat best friend."

Giving a look at the costume designers and make-up artists, Narumi asked, "How long will it take for you guys to transform them?"

"Ten minutes, perhaps?" the head of the costume design replied after a moment of thinking.

"Okay, that's doable! Now let's hurry!" Narumi called out, clapping his hands. "While they do that, those who have free time, let's make some cue cards for Mikan-chan."

Everyone immediately hurried along and did the thing they were supposed to.

Sounds of giggles were heard when Natsume stepped out of the dressing room dressed as a cat with leopard prints with his male costume person behind him. Natsume definitely looked annoyed while the little boy he was holding looked happy and excited.

When Mikan stepped out of her own dressing room with Hotaru who did her hair, a female costume person and a female make-up artist behind her, looks of admiration appeared and swoons were seen. Mikan looked like a handsome prince with a girly touch to him, what with her long hair and all. The costume person and make-up artist definitely looked proud of their work.

"You look very adorable, Hyuuga~" Mikan complimented as she went up to Natsume and pulled his cheeks like she would to a little boy.

A tick mark appeared on Natsume's forehead as he glared at Mikan and began emanating a murderous aura. "You should never call a man adorable, you baka onna! Now, stop it!"

Narumi, who was heading their way dressed as the hunter with Fukutan dressed as the queen behind him, smiled brightly at how much these substitutes looked like the character they are playing. "Great job, you guys~ Now let's stand by the stage and be ready to enter at any time. The play's about to start~ And don't worry, Mikan-chan, we have your cue cards and lines ready. We will flash them at you."

Mikan merely nodded with a small smile and began following Narumi, finally letting for of Natsume's cheeks.

The play soon began and everything, so far, was running smoothly. When the audience realized that their Yuri-sama, who was 'persuaded' by Narumi to be part of the play as the prince once again, wasn't the prince, they were shocked and distraught, of course, but when they saw who the replacement was, hearts appeared in many people's eyes while others were staring at Mikan in awe. The word "bishounen" appeared in many people's mind.

It was the final scene of the play and the Prince found a dead Snow White in the forest on his way to her castle.

"But perhaps it was a trick of fate, the prince has no sense of direction and was lost and wandering again on unknown paths. And he just happened to pass by the tomb the dwarves had made for Snow White," the chorus narrated as Mikan rode into the scene on a mechanical horse.

"Oh! This is my dear Snow White, whom I met that day! What is she doing in a place such as this…?" Mikan questioned, glancing over at the pale Snow White who was surrounded by crying dwarves and animals.

"Oh, how dreadful!" Mikan cried out according to the cue cards and got off the horse. She began to approach the princess in a somber fashion as she said her next words, "At least let me give her a farewell kiss…!"

A gasp was heard from the audience as they realized what was going to happen.

Looking over at the side of the stage one more time, Mikan realized that Narumi had interfered and placed in a cue card of his own. Mikan smirked inwardly as all was going according to plan.

"The prince **kisses** the princess so the audience can tell it's on her **lips**! 3" the cue card read.

"Sensei, that's… not in the script, is it…?" a nearby student asked with his script in hand.

"Hmm, well, we lost a lot of our sizzle because of the accident. It's an emergency addition, 3" Narumi replied with a cheerful smile as he held up another cue card that read "Hurry now! 3", but his eyes were telling a whole different story. He was giving a meaningful look to Mikan as if to ask "Happy now?"

Realizing that the kiss was still not happening, many that was on the sides of the stage looked over at Narumi's cue cards. Their eyes widened in shock when they read what was written.

When Ruka felt that something wasn't right, he opened his eyes to see that Mikan was directing a smirk to someone over his head. Slightly twisting his head to see what was going on, he was horrified when he saw what Narumi had on his cue card. Snapping his head back to Mikan, he realized that Mikan was only a few inches away from his face and he blushed furiously. "Mi-Mikan-chan!"

"Relax, Ruka-pyon. You have to trust me, remember?" Mikan reminded with a sweet smile.

Eyes widening in realization, he stuttered out, "Y-You planned this?"

Mikan just winked in reply before closing the distance between the two and the audience held their breaths in anticipation. Feeling something coming her way, one of her hands came up and caught the object before it could hit her. As Mikan's lips touched Ruka's, the lights on the stage turned off and the curtains came over the stage. Smirking, Mikan pressed deeper into the kiss as the lights came back on.

"I think that's enough, Sakura," Natsume spitted out coldly as he approached the two, his hand finally free from the little boy's.

Giving a lick to Ruka's lips as a final gesture, Mikan pulled back from a red Ruka and gave a satisfied smirk to Natsume as she stood up, pulling Ruka up as well.

"Jealous?" Mikan questioned with a knowing look.

Natsume narrowed his eyes, but stayed silent.

The tension on the stage was palpable and most people were still trying to absorb what had just happened. Well, that was until Narumi stepped onto the stage and clapped his hands, catching everyone's attention. "Alright everyone, time for the curtain call! Let's line up on the stage and give our bows!"

Everyone snapped out of their stupor and did as Narumi instructed. One of the stage hands pulled the curtains and everyone bowed as they were welcomed by enthusiastic clapping and cheering.

Mikan was bowing hand-in-hand with Ruka on her left and Narumi on her right. Ruka was still blushing while Narumi covered his real feelings with a pleased smile. Discreetly, Mikan looked over at a dark corner of the auditorium with a cruel smirk.

The figure in the corner can still feel his heart throbbing in pain because of what he witnessed. '_Why, Mikan, why? Why do you always have to punish me in the cruelest way possible?_'

* * *

**Later that day…**

"Mikan-chan, I think it's about time you do your part of the deal," Narumi spoke in a cold and emotionless voice. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed in front of his chest and watching the beginning of the closing ceremony.

"Hai, hai, why so serious, Narumi-sensei?" Mikan gave a quick glance at Narumi before returning her attention to the closing ceremony.

"And now… we commence the Closing Ceremonies," a grown man announced as one by one, the three headmasters walked on stage and were welcomed by the students with claps and cheers. First was the senior division headmaster dressed in a general suit with a slight frown, the second was the junior division headmaster dressed in an extravagant kimono with a dispassionate look, and the third was the elementary division headmaster who had the look of a teenager and dressed in a suit with a small smile.

"It doesn't matter. Tell me, what are your natural Alices and what are the ones that you have copied? You promised me, Mikan," Narumi demanded as his eyes narrowed at the face of Kuonji.

"Narumi, you have met Azumi Yuka already, haven't you?" Although it was structured like a sentence, Mikan's tone implied that she already knew the answer.

Narumi shot a glance at Mikan with slight surprise. "How did you know?"

"Nothing can go on in the gakuen without me knowing," Mikan replied simply. "And I also know your intentions."

"My intentions?" Narumi raised an eyebrow at that.

"Your intentions to assassinate Kuonji-kouchou so that Azumi-san won't leave you again."

Narumi was taken back. '_How did she know?_'

"But… you won't have to worry about that. I suppose Kuonji-kouchou won't need Azumi-san anymore," Mikan said with a small smile as she carefully observed Narumi.

Narumi's eyes snapped towards Mikan, meeting them head on. "What do you mean?"

"You will know soon enough," Mikan answered mysteriously with a secretive smile. Turning her attention back to what's happening on stage, she saw that it was already time to announce winners and such. "Back to our deal, I will now hold up my end of the deal. My natural Alices are nullification Alice, teleportation Alice, stealing Alice, inserting Alice…" Mikan paused as her gaze went back to Narumi. "…and the copying Alice."

"The winning class this year is the Technical class!" the announcer called out as cheers erupted from the Technical class while "Awww" was heard from the Latent class.

Hotaru stood up from her seat among the other representatives and student principals and walked towards the announcer.

As Hotaru accepted the victory flag from a grown man, the announcer said, "Accepting the victory flag, trophy and prize money of one million rabbits for the Technical class is the class representative, Imai Hotaru."

Hotaru handed the flag to Nonoko, who stood beside her and was the one who accepted the trophy, and exchanged it for the trophy. Hotaru held it up with a small smile as more cheers erupted from the crowd.

Narumi's eyes widened in shock, he was speechless.

Mikan swung off the branch she was on and landed besides Narumi. "Also, the Alices that are inside of me? Every single Alice that exists in the world."

Defying what was thought possible, Narumi's eyes widened even more, he looked like he was about ready to faint.

"Now for the individual excellence awards. This year's "king" will unfortunately not be awarded. This year's "queen" will be from the Senior Division Class A, Technical Class, for the all-in-one robot maid and various other inventions, she has gained prestige among international media enterprises for her wonderful productive ambition and forward thinking, thus earning her this award, Imai Hotaru!" the announcer announced.

Standing up from her chair once again, Hotaru walked up to the same grown men with money signs in her eyes.

"I present Imai-san with the prize money of 20 thousand rabbits and a trophy!"

Mikan gave Narumi a sweet smile as she said her next words, "Narumi-sensei, I think it's about time I return to the festival. I will see you later, Narumi-sensei. Thank you for helping me out earlier~"

Mikan added a wink to her farewell before teleporting away and reappeared behind Tsubasa, Misaki and another teacher just as the announcer announced the winner of the newcomer award, who's a student from the junior division.

"Tsubasa-sensei, Misaki-sensei!" Mikan called out with a big smile.

Tsubasa, Misaki and the third person turned around to face her.

"Mikan-chan! Where have you been? We've been looking for you!" Misaki whispered loudly.

"I was just taking care of some business. So… who's this?" Mikan asked, sparing a glance at the third person who had scratches and dirt marks on him and his outfit.

"Oh! This is Nodacchi! He's the head teacher of the Special Ability class! You've probably never met him before because he just returned to one of his time travels!" Tsubasa replied, swinging his arm around Nodacchi's shoulders.

Mikan nodded in understanding. The announcer's next words caused everyone to turn their attention towards the stage.

"Now, aside from the awards just given, there is a "special award" given to a person or group that has gained a lot of attention. It isn't awarded every year, but this year, for the first time in a long while, a group has been found worthy of the prize! This year's "special award" goes to the Special Ability class fir their "Role-playing Game: Aladdin and the Magic Lamp"!"

The Special Ability class was dumbfounded by what they just heard as everyone else clapped for them, knowing that it was well deserved.

The announcer continued, "In spite of their low budget and lack of corporate sponsorship, thanks to their smart concept and the clever use of their unique Alices, they received several testimonials that they were able to entertain large numbers of guests, thereby earning this award!"

'_The Special Ability class is finally recognized for their talent. I, no, we did it!_' Mikan had on a bright satisfied smile as she took Tsubasa and Misaki's hand in hers and pulled them towards the stage. "Come on! What are you spacing out for? Everyone has finally recognized the Special Ability class's talent! We did it!"

Tsubasa accepted the trophy and award from the grown men while everyone in the Special Ability class was celebrating their first success.

Mikan stood back and smiled, enjoying the pure joy that was coming out of these people. She easily melted into the shadows and disappeared out of sight.

The celebration and congratulations went on for a while, but as the announcer began announcing the end of the closing ceremony, Kuonji stood up on his seat and motioned for the announcer to stop.

Kuonji took the microphone from the announcer. "Excuse me, but I have one final announcement to make before we end this ceremony."

Hearing the elementary principal's voice caught everyone's attention straightaway, everybody straightened their backs and quieted down, listening intently to his next words. It was very rare that they were able to hear something from the principals; some people have gone through their entire school career without hearing even one single word.

Suddenly, Persona appeared on stage right next to the elementary school principal. Everyone was shocked at by his appearance, especially Natsume, Narumi, and the high school principal. Kuonji handed the microphone to Persona and took a step back, letting Persona take full rein.

"As of this moment, Hyuuga Natsume will no longer be the representative of the Dangerous Ability class," Persona spoke in a cold and emotionless voice.

Natsume stood up from his chair in shock. "W-What?"

Gasps and reactions erupted from the audience as speculations were made and rumors were started.

Persona quickly grew annoyed at the situation and with a glare, he ordered, "Quiet!"

Everyone instantly became silent and most shrunk back in fear.

Mikan suddenly appeared on the stage besides Persona dressed in an extravagant kimono, much like that of the middle school principal's.

"Sakura Mikan is to be the new representative of the Dangerous Ability class."

Mikan had on a gentle smile as she gave everyone a small greeting bow. "It's nice to meet you all, please take care of me in the future."

* * *

**[Notes]—**

[_"What? It's not as if I am going to know what each and every phobia is!" Tsubasa protested._] That line wouldn't have really worked if this story was in Chinese or Japanese (particularly Kanji) since almost every single character has a meaning, so the xenophobia would be made up of characters that would mean "xenophobia," but since this story's in English, it will work. I just wanted to point that out.

Shiki says "Mikan-san" instead of "LastName-san" because he isn't sure whether to call her by her real last name (Yukihira) or pseudo one (Sakura). Plus, "Mikan-san" is what he calls her whenever he talks about her with Yuka, so he's used to it.

Yuka, Shiki, and Kazu call each other more formally in front of Natsume because they are trying to withhold as much information as possible for now.

Pretend the play from "six years ago" went smoothly and nothing went wrong.

Some lines were used from Chapter 24 of Volume 5 in Gakuen Alice's manga.

Rei is labeled as "Persona" in that last part because a) I found it more suiting. B) It means that he's dressed up with a mask and all.

I have no idea what just happened between Rei and Mikan during that one scene… I swear, it surprised just as much as it probably surprised you! *blush*

Would you guys prefer Shiki Masachika to be called/labeled as "Shiki" or "Masachika"?

Yes, the after party is probably going to be skipped.

* * *

Thank you very much for reading this chapter, I hope it was an enjoyable chapter and there were many important events that took place in this chapter, I suppose. I don't know when I am going to update next, I guess I will try to update by Hotaru's birthday, but I am not positive since school's busy and I need to write the next chapter for my D. Gray Man fanfic before working on Chapter 15 since my friend wants to kill me already and she's withholding a Tyki drawing from me until I upload... :P

I hope I will hear your thoughts, reactions and opinions from you guys through review. I would love to hear from you guys. If you have any requests, I can try putting it in~ And Eternal Cat Moon? Don't be a psychic again... T.T

Until next time~

Best wishes always,  
Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 09/23/11


	15. Chapter 15: The New Representative

**A/N:** Thank you to all of my readers and special thanks to those who reviewed, favorited and/or story alerted this humble story of mine. I take great pleasure in reading your reviews and I try to incorporate most of the ideas give to me.

A quick apology about my lack of update, an as a compensation, this chapter is 11,000 words long (Don't go thinking I wrote you guys a 13,000 word chapter. -.-), not including my tedious author notes. I still can't believe this story is almost one year old! (I was thinking about updating on the story's anniversary, but decided Natsume's birthday was a better time.) Thank you to those who were with me ever since the beginning of this story! **Akatsuki Utaou** in particular for being here since day 1 (more like day 2) and reviewing every single chapter.

This chapter is dedicated to **Natsume** (since it WAS his birthday on the 27th, my brain messed up the date even though I double checked it.) and **Akatsuki Utaou** (for being an awesome friend, reader, reviewing and it was her birthday back in October… and I missed it. D: Happy belated birthday!). Happy belated Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!

So without further ado, here's the chapter! Please forgive any errors and mistakes. Feel free to point them out, Enjoy!

* * *

**Note:**

"Daihyou-sha" means "Mr./Ms./Mrs. Representative". "代表者" is the kanji used.

"Moshi moshi" means "hello" when you are talking on the phone.

"Ojisan" means "uncle" and "otousan" means "father".

"-kouchou" is an honorific that can be used for principals. Kouchou literally means principal, schoolmaster, or headmaster of a school. You can also just refer to the principal as "kouchou-sensei". But since there are three principals in this school, I will mostly refer to them with a suffix. I might use it later though. So just keep this in mind. For ex: Kuonji-kouchou is Principal Kuonji.

Japanese way of the order of name is last name then first name, in case you didn't know. For example: In America, it would be "Mikan Sakura" (First Last), but in Japan it would be "Sakura Mikan" (Last First) without a comma in between.

More notes below.

* * *

**Chapter 15 – The New Representative**

* * *

"This is Sakura Mikan and she will be replacing Hyuuga Natsume as your new class representative," Rei introduced in his usual guise of Persona with a cold and emotionless tone, purposely referring to his two students with their full name.

Mikan greeted the class with a bow and neutral expression. Her eyes were examining everyone in the room with passiveness, but when her eyes met that of Youichi, she gave him a warning look. Once her examination was done, she spoke in a cool and mysterious tone, "It's nice to meet you all, I am Sakura Mikan and I am a first year in the high school section."

"A first year? We accepted Hyuuga because of his unprecedented abilities, but you? Not only are you a first year, but all you have is the nullification Alice and the teleportation Alice. Neither of them is offensive and we don't even know how well you use your Alices, how can we accept you just like that?" a nonchalant voice questioned.

Everyone turned to see the speaker. It was Tachibana Yomu, a third-year of the high school section with a three-star ranking. He has black hair and green eyes with a pair of thin-framed glasses. He has the paralysis Alice. Sensing everyone's stares, Yomu looked up from the book he was reading and met Mikan's eyes.

"Tachibana-senpai is right, how do you expect us to accept a newcomer like you as our representative just like that?" another voice agreed. This time, it was Nagami Canon who spoke. He is a brown-haired and brown-eyed second-year in the middle school section. He is the owner of the voice pheromone Alice. He was leaning back on the two hind legs of the chair he was on with his hands behind his head and his legs under the table in front of him to keep himself steady.

Suddenly, an out-of-nowhere force slammed against the chair's hind legs and knocked the chair away. Canon would have fallen if not for his fast reaction and back-flip. As Canon got up from his kneeled position, another force headed towards him, but it soon met an invisible wall before dissolving.

"That's enough, Youichi. Nagami-san did nothing wrong and I understand where they are coming from quite well," Mikan interceded easily.

Youichi gave Mikan a sheepish look. "But—"

"Youichi," Mikan warned with a dark look.

"Yes, I understand, oneechan," Youichi bowed his head in defeat.

"I apologize for what Youichi did, Nagami-san. I will insure that no further animosity will be coming from him."

Canon shrugged as he dusted off his pants. "It's alright; no harm was done from that little squirt."

Youichi glowered at Canon and restrained himself from wiping that smirk off that arrogant guy's face.

"It would be much easier on my part if you can keep your arrogance in check, Nagami-san." Mikan directed a pointed look at Canon. "Moving on, Tachibana-senpai, and this is also directed to everyone else, I can prove my abilities as your new representative however you guys want."

"Let me modify her statement," Persona suddenly inputted, surprising most people in the room. Mikan and Youichi rolled their eyes, knowing what was coming next. "Sakura will do whatever you request as long as it doesn't cause her to die."

"Like they will even cause me to be near death," Mikan muttered under her breath with only Natsume, Persona, and one other dangerous ability student hearing them.

"You seem so confident about this, daihyou-sha," a new guy remarked. Zen is his name. He has no last name and he's a two-star student in the middle school section. In contrast to his androgynous beauty that attracts both men and women, his dead and soulless eyes are clues to the immoral and cold-blooded person he is inside. He is also the owner of the blood manipulation Alice, which complements his personality.

Mikan shrugged in response and without warning, a blood whip headed towards Mikan. Mikan easily jumped up and dodged to the side.

Knowing better than to be in the way, everyone inside the dangerous ability classroom walked to the nearest wall and watched.

Zen tried to control Mikan's blood (as in the blood flowing through Mikan), but he soon realized he was being nullified, so he turned to physical attacks. Mikan easily dodged all of his attacks while showing off her acrobatic skills. Realizing that he's just wasting his energy, Zen pulled out his gun and began shooting at Mikan.

"Are students even allowed to be in possession of guns?" Mikan remarked with a raised eyebrow as she stepped to the side to avoid the incoming bullets.

Zen shrugged as he quickly reloaded his gun and sent another series of bullets towards Mikan.

"You are pretty good with the gun," Mikan complimented as she used a nearby desk to propel herself into doing a back flip. Finally deciding to take the initiative, Mikan charged towards Zen while dodging the incoming bullets. Suddenly, Mikan disappeared and reappeared behind Zen a split second later. Zen also turned around as well, but by the time he did, Mikan was gone again and the gun in Zen's hand got knocked off. Then, a leg out of nowhere swiped across Zen's feet, causing Zen to begin falling before he steadied himself by doing a one-hand cartwheel. However, as soon as he stood back up, a kick landed on his chest and he slammed into the wall that was several feet behind him.

As distorted coughs were heard from Zen, Mikan's figure solidified in front of Zen's gun and picked it up. She pointed the gun at Zen and loaded it. "You lose, Zen-san."

Zen just chuckled as he got up with the help of the wall and leaned against the wall with a smirk. "Gin, you are next."

Gin stepped away from the wall with a small nod. In a moment's notice, the gun in Mikan's hand was taken away and it was carried back to Zen's hand.

'_Kairaishi Gin, third-grader in the elementary section, the puppet Alice,_' Mikan thought as she tuned to face Gin with a small smile. "You are my next opponent, huh, Kairaishi-san."

Gin didn't respond as he raised his hands with a smirking face and strings unseen by human eyes darted towards Mikan.

Retaining her smile, Mikan pulled out a uniquely carved dagger that was strapped to her thigh and expertly sliced all the incoming strings.

The eyes of many widened in shock, even Gin's, at how easily Mikan stopped Gin's attacks. Even with the training they've had, the people in the dangerous ability class still had trouble with Gin's Alice.

"Your strings work the best in the light since your victims have less heightened senses, but if one was able to control all their senses at will, they would be able to easily detect your strings with a little training," Mikan pointed out as she placed her dagger back to its strapped sheath. "However, don't use your strings in places with too much illumination, or else the strings can be easily seen at the right angle."

'_How did she discover all that so easily?_' Gin thought with a look of distaste and annoyance. No matter how mature or malevolent he appears, he's still a kid at heart.

"Since your Alice can't do any harm to me and even if you decided to control other things to throw at me, I will easily dodge it, you are done, Kairaishi-san." Turning to face the other occupants in the room, Mikan questioned, "Who's next?"

'_How dare she dismiss me so easily!_' In his fit of anger, Gin sent out an army of strings and with a strong wave of his hand, most of the room's desks and chairs closed in on Mikan with overabundant force.

At the last second, Mikan teleported away.

_Bam!_

A loud resounding crash was heard and Mikan reappeared in a sitting position on top of the heap. "That was absolutely unnecessary, Kairaishi-san."

Gin just narrowed his eyes with an "hmph" and stepped back to lean against the wall, finally accepting his defeat.

"Although it hurts my ego to say this, I will give up since it's obvious I have no chance of winning. If I use my voice pheromone on you or other people, you would nullify it. Physical attacks are just a waste of energy as well," Canon said with an annoyed look.

"What if we were to attack her all at once?" a voice spoke up for the first time since Mikan's arrival. "It might be unfair for her, but since she's our new representative, she should be able to handle it, right?"

Mikan glanced at the source. '_Tsutsumi Suiren, a second-year in the middle school section and the owner of the water Alice._'

As a contrast to his flaming red hair, Suiren owned a pair of ocean blue eyes, which were staring at Mikan with a look of challenge.

Mikan shrugged. "I don't mind. But don't waste your Alice on someone like me."

With that, almost everyone charged towards Mikan without hesitance. Swipes and kicks were directed at Mikan in a whirlwind fashion. But even when they are together, they were still no match for Mikan, who has been training every single day ever since she was two. At first, Alice attacks were also experimentally directed at Mikan, but as most expected, every single one of those attacks met a nullification barrier around Mikan, so they immediately ceased the Alice attacks.

One by one, the opponents of Mikan were either knocked out or slammed against the wall with sweat running down their faces and bruises or cuts covering their bodies.

From the sidelines, Natsume was watching with surprise while Youichi and Persona sported smug and proud looks.

'_That girl is beating all these trained assassins like they're mere amateurs! How is that possible? And she's barely out of breath!_' Natsume couldn't fathom this sight in front of him, but he knew his suspicion of Mikan was being proven more and more right. She was not a mere Kyōto orphan picked up by Persona outside of the gakuen.

Meanwhile, Mikan was facing her last opponent, who was ironically the one who started this challenge, Tsutsumi Suiren.

With an inconspicuous look to all of his fallen comrades, Suiren readied himself for the incoming fight with determination and narrowed his eyes at Mikan. The members of the dangerous ability class might not always be in agreement or have friendly relations with each other, but they were the closest to family each other had. They were practically the _only ones_ each other had.

Mikan gave him a "bring-it-on" look and without further prompt, Suiren charged towards Mikan. From within his sleeve, a hidden extendable metal pole slipped in his hand and he swiped it forward, allowing the pole to lengthen to its full length. Suiren lashed out at Mikan without reservation.

A long bamboo rod materialized in Mikan's outstretched hand just in time for her to be able to defend herself from the incoming blow.

"Phew, that would have been a nasty bruise," Mikan remarked with a carefree smile, not worried at all. As soon as she dodged the blow, she immediately launched her own attack. Lunges and dodges were made. Bruises were formed and air was knocked out. But both refused to give up.

Not before long, an idea formed in Suiren's head. Knowing that direct Alice attacks won't work on her, Suiren decided to fill the room with knee-high water to slow down mobility. However, he knew that it wouldn't have much affect on him since he specializes in water terrain training.

Mikan smirked with pride and confidence as she surveyed the transformed battleground. A normal opponent, even a trained assassin, would definitely have trouble in this setting, but when was she ever normal?

Plus, _she_ was the one who taught this trick to him.

So, she continued her lashes and kicks with zero difficulty.

Suiren's eyes widened considerably. He was absolutely speechless and dumbfounded. And it was in this lapse of attention that Mikan gave him the final blow. Mikan's bamboo rod connected with the base of Suiren's head. It wasn't strong enough to cause any permanent damage, but it was strong enough to knock him out.

Before Suiren lost consciousness and fell face-first into the water, a sputtered "H-How?" was heard from him.

_Splash_.

Slow and eerie claps were heard and all those that were still conscious turned to look at the source. It was Persona.

"Good job, Sakura," Persona congratulated, his eyes passing over the exhausted figures of his students. The only ones still standing, with the exception of Mikan, were the ones who didn't participate. "Sakura, would you mind cleaning this up before anyone dies from lack of oxygen?"

"Of course not," Mikan replied with a courteous smile. With a single uplift of her hand, all the water in the room gathered into one big globe that overcastted the center of the room.

"W-What?" Natsume was thrown into a disarray of shock and disbelief once again. He took a step back, only to be met with a wall.

Giving a subtle wink to Natsume, Mikan then teleported the globe of water away, emptying it at a nearby lake, which was located in the Northern Forest, where the water originate from.

Although it is possible for a water Alice user to conjure water whenever he/she wants to, there is a limit to the amount of water the user can pull out of nowhere. If the user wants to use a large amount of water without resorting to their life source, as is the case with the limitless Alice shape, the user will have to tap into a nearby water source, which is what Suiren did.

Having a smug smirk on his face, Persona stepped away from the wall he was learning against and informed, "I guess I forgot to mention―and do tell this to those that are currently unconscious―but Sakura is also the owner of the steal, copy and insert Alice. However, before any of you get strange and false ideas into your head, Sakura didn't use any of those secondary Alices during her battle with you guys."

The eyes of Natsume and the other barely conscious students snapped open in bewilderment and stupefaction. Natsume immediately stored that piece of information away, wondering if Yukihira-kouchou already knows it, but he still had a hard time accepting the fact that Mikan was truly superior to him.

* * *

"Narumi, now that you've finally decided to see me, would you mind explaining why in the world you helped Mikan during the Alice Festival?" Yukihira Kazumi, the high school principal, questioned with watchful eyes. It was obvious he was unhappy with Narumi's actions. Narumi's refusal to meet up with the principal didn't help either.

Narumi stayed silent, as if in contemplation, and Kazumi was about to speak again, but Narumi looked up and met Kazumi's eyes, asking him to stay silent. "Mikan-chan and I struck a deal. If I were to comply with her wishes, she will answer most, if not all, of my questions."

Kazumi's eyes and expression revealed his shock. "When did this happen?"

Narumi shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Kazumi narrowed his eyes at Narumi again, why is he being so uncooperative? "Why didn't you tell me about it?"

"I didn't realize I was supposed to report every single little detail to you, Yukihira-kouchou."

"This is not a little detail, Narumi!" Kazumi's voice rose in volume at first, but once he realized how worked up he was getting, he lowered his voice. He was getting frustrated with Narumi's reverting attitude.

Narumi shrugged again. "No use crying over spilled milk."

"Then what about that last meeting? You weren't even supposed to be there!" Kazumi sighed as his hand began massaging his forehead to ease the oncoming headache.

"I wanted to see Yuka-senpai again," Narumi said nonchalantly as if it was no big deal. His eyes began wandering over the room's decorations to prevent himself from zoning out.

If Kazumi was the type to utter profanity, he would be doing so now. "You could've easily seen her without revealing your presence. Not only that, but it wasn't the right time!"

Narumi's eyes returned to Kazumi's. "Then when is the right time?"

"You would have only needed to wait a little longer."

"A little longer? **A little longer?** HOW MUCH LONGER DO I HAVE TO WAIT?" Narumi's body began quaking from the overflowing emotions that was trapped inside him. Suddenly, his voice quieted down to a whisper. "I have waited for her 17 years already. I lost her once and then I found her, but I soon lost her again. Do I have to lose her a third time?"

Kazumi stayed silent, knowing how much Narumi has suffered all this time.

"I am sorry, but my heart is not strong enough to lose her again. Twice was enough. I am not going to just sit back and let her slip through my fingers again."

The both of them allowed silence to envelope them until Narumi was calm once again. Narumi stared into space for a moment or two before saying, "I apologize, Yukihira-kouchou, but I must leave now. I will come see you again later."

Kazumi nodded, understanding that it'd be best to let Narumi go for the day.

As Narumi closed the door behind him, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he leaned against the wall next to the door.

Shakily, Narumi took out a piece of paper from his back pants pocket. "In the end, I didn't give this to Yukihira-kouchou."

It was a riddle sneaked into his pocket by Mikan today.

"A life withheld, a life renewed, a life involved, a life at hand, a life disarrayed, a life risks all," Narumi read to himself as he attempted to figure out who these six people are since they probably play a vital role in all of this. It was in his plans to inform the high school principal of the note, but there wasn't an opportune time.

Suddenly, he remembered the other piece of information he withheld from the high school principal.

"_**Narumi-sensei, how about I add another detail to our little deal**_?" _**Mikan was lying on Narumi's bed and staring up at the ceiling.**_

"_**What is it?" Narumi was sitting in a big and comfortable armchair with a cup of hot chocolate in his hands.**_

"_**In the future, if you agree to comply with all my wishes, I will promise to protect Azumi Yuka and in addition, I will answer whatever I deem as answerable for you." One of Mikan's hands stretched out towards the ceiling and she looked through the gaps between the fingers, as if to block the overwhelming sunlight but being unable to resist the temptation to look at it, even though there wasn't any sun in the room.**_

_**After a moment of thinking, Narumi's eyes widened to a prodigious size."Why?"**_

_**It was just one simple word, but Mikan knew what Narumi meant. It wasn't a question to ask why she would protect Yuka, neither was it to question the reason for this new detail. It was to ask why Yuka needs to be protected. "Who knows? As long as you know she will be safe, isn't it enough?"**_

"_**I want to protect her too!" As Narumi stood up angrily, he slammed his cup down on the wooden side table beside the armchair. The cup's contents swished against its confining walls, but there wasn't enough hot chocolate for it to spill over the sides.**_

_**Mikan's head turned to its side to face Narumi. "But would you be able to?"**_

_**Narumi narrowed his eyes, crossed by the challenge spoken against his first-class abilities. "Of course I can!"**_

_**Mikan chuckled humorlessly. '**_**What if the one you are going against is a woman who would risk everything to save her precious child from the hands of a villain?**_**'**_

_**Although her silent inquiry was not voiced, her doubt in his answer was clear and Narumi was very displeased. Who was she to doubt his abilities? Who was she to doubt his unwavering confidence in being able to protect the one he held dearest to his heart?**_

"_**Anyways, my first offer still stands. However, I will give you a few days to think over my second offer," Mikan suggested as she sat up from the bed and walked towards Narumi. "Unfortunately, I have to go now. I think it is best for you to return to the festival as well. I will see you soon, Narumi-sensei."**_

Yesterday, Narumi found a package waiting for him when he returned to his room after school ended for the day. It was a DVD sent by Mikan. Immediately, he watched it and what he witnessed astounded him. It contained the recording of a fight between Mikan and the dangerous ability class. She did something even he wasn't able to do. She one-handedly defeated every single student that challenged her and she didn't even use any of her secondary Alices!

However, what shocked him even more was the second clip that the DVD contained. It was of a meeting between the elementary school principal, Persona and Koizumi Luna (who he didn't even know was on campus). They were planning the assassination of Azumi Yuka.

Instead of wondering how they knew and why they wanted to kill her, the first question that appeared in Narumi's mind was "How the heck did Mikan-chan get her hands on this?" and the second was "Did Mikan-chan know about this when she talked to me?"

As that memory flashed through his mind, Narumi found one of the answers. "A life at hand… Yuka-senpai!"

'_If the elementary school principal is really after Yuka-senpai and Persona is helping him, then that means he will probably deploy the dangerous ability class and other trained assassins. What kind of schemes will they come up with? Will I be able to protect Yuka-senpai from all these assailants? If Mikan was able to get her hands on a private meeting like this, what does that say about her? Will she participate in the assassination as well? But if I strike this deal with her and she upholds her promise, then she will be able to protect Yuka-senpai. On the other hand, how will she defy the elementary school principal's orders if she is going to take part in it and most important of all, can I even trust her?'_

Doubts and questions were taking over Narumi's mind, but his decision became clear. His mind resolute at last, Narumi placed the note back into his pocket and sporting a hard expression, Narumi walked down the hallway and back to his room.

* * *

The next morning, Narumi flounced into the classroom in his usual vibrant and jolly manner while Fukutan trailed after him in a meek and hopeful manner.

"Good morning, everyone!" Narumi shouted cheerfully as he slammed the pile of papers he held onto the teacher's podium.

A few "Good morning" were heard from the class while most just focused their attention on the stack of paper Narumi brought in.

"Sensei… why is there such a big stack of paper?" a particularly brave student questioned, desperately hoping it wasn't what he thought it was. Narumi was known to be a particularly irresponsible teacher who rarely taught anything and handed most of his responsibilities and teaching to the victimized Fukutan, so those papers surely can't be anything academic, right?

"Ah! Great question, Kimishima-kun! Since finals are taking place next week, these are the schedules for finals and a brief overview of all the different areas that you are going to be tested on! All the high school teachers worked very hard to compile this together!" Narumi announced as he handed the stack of paper to Fukutan for him to pass out.

Cries of despair were heard from all over the room.

"Your teachers for each subject will go further in depth with you as you have their classes this week, but these biannual tests have a big effect on your star ranking and your performance record, so be sure to do your best on them! 3" Narumi explained, which was very unlike him since he usually just ditches class the first chance he has.

Students who have already received the paper quickly scanned over its contents before looking up at Narumi suspiciously when they heard his explanation.

"Naru… you are creeping me, no, us out!" Koko couldn't hold it in anymore and expressed what everyone else was thinking.

Narumi tilted his head to his side, confounded by the comment. "How? I am just doing what a teacher's supposed to be doing."

'_That's EXACTLY what's so creepy about this!_' everyone thought in unison as Koko voiced out their thoughts.

"Really? Then maybe I should do my job more often!" Narumi had on a big smile while Fukutan nodded eagerly.

The eyes of many widened in horror as they imagined what would happen to their sanity if Narumi did so. What welcomed them wasn't pleasant and thus, they shook their head in negation furiously.

Narumi just laughed at the differing opinions before his eyes met that of Mikan's. His eyes turned serious but his joyous expression remained. "Mikan-chan! Can you please come outside for a moment? I need to talk to you."

Mikan nodded with a knowing smile as she stood up from her desk and followed Narumi out of the room.

"Well then, study hard, my lovely students!" Narumi called out before he closed the door after Mikan's exit.

As soon as they reached a secluded area on the school grounds, Narumi turned his head left and right, checking for possible eavesdroppers and spy bugs, before molding his expression into that of a guarded one. "Mikan-chan, how did you get your hands on that video?"

She knew which one he was talking about, so without beating around the bush, she replied, "I have my sources, Narumi-sensei. I have already said it once, but I will say it again, I know everything that goes on in this gakuen. Nothing escapes my eyes."

Pursing his lips, Narumi was once again lost in his thoughts before asking, "Does anyone else know about this?"

Mikan shook her head in negation as she folded her arms across her chest and leaned against the wall. They were situated at a shadowed corner of a hallway. Although they can see any incoming people, others can't see them unless they look really closely.

"Will you be able to protect Yuka-senpai no matter what?" Narumi questioned with his eyes boring into Mikan's, searching for any scrap of clue he can find.

Mikan nodded, unwavering under Narumi's intense examination. "Of course. You have already seen what I am capable of. Defending both Azumi-san and I won't be a problem at all."

Narumi nodded as well, acknowledging the superior strength and ability Mikan possesses. "Can I trust you?"

Mikan stared back at Narumi and stayed silent.

Narumi's volume lowered as he repeated his words, which resembled that of a plea, "Can I trust you, Mikan-chan?"

"I am sorry, but I am afraid that's for you to decide, Narumi-sensei." Mikan's tone took on that of sorrow.

Narumi opened his mouth to speak, but closed it shortly after when he couldn't find any words. He understood what Mikan was saying to him, but it was still hard for him to accept it. "I― I think I can place my trust in you, Mikan-chan. Although you seem to have many secrets, I think you are the only one that I can trust to keep Yuka-senpai safe against all odds. I might risk a lot, but… I am going to place my trust in you, Mikan-chan."

Mikan smiled. It wasn't a joyful smile, but it wasn't a sad smile either. It was the type of smile that one can't easily describe with mere words. It was the type of smile that expressed more than what a small smile like that should express.

Experimentally, Mikan took a step forward and when Narumi didn't back away, Mikan placed her arms around Narumi's larger frame and embraced him. Her warm embrace was full of emotions, the prominent one being that of gratefulness. No matter how opposed to being trusted one might be, he/she would still feel an unexplainable happiness and gratefulness that sprouts from the bottom of their hearts when he/she hears a sincere "I trust you" spoken to them. They are humans and humans want to be trusted, no matter how much they say they don't care.

"Thank you," Mikan whispered as her arms tightened around Narumi before they released him a moment later. Wiping the lone tear from the corner of her eyes, Mikan looked up at Narumi with a smile. "I should go back to class now, Narumi-sensei. See you later."

Mikan took a step away before she turned back and took Narumi's hand into her own. As she slipped something round into his palm, she said quietly, "By the way, you seem to have a visitor, Narumi-sensei. Good luck."

Then, Mikan teleported back to the classroom without waiting for a response.

With a grim smile, Narumi looked up and turned around to face his visitor. "Hi there, Yuka-senpai. It's very dangerous for you to be here."

"What were you doing with Mikan?" Yuka walked into the shadowed corner and much like her daughter, she took the position of leaning against the wall with her arms folded across her chest.

Narumi shrugged as he internally smiled about the similarities between mother and daughter. "We were just talking."

"What were you talking about then?"

"I think that's enough questions, Yuka-senpai. **I'm** the one who's supposed to be doing the questioning," Narumi replied in a cold tone as he stared at Yuka with bitter eyes. "Tell me, Yuka-senpai, why didn't you want me to know that you were here?"

Yuka inwardly debated over whether she should be truthful or not.

"I think it'd be best if you tell me the truth, Yuka-senpai, or else I will just have to resort to my Alice," Narumi threatened as his occupied hand fisted tighter. It pained him to say such a thing, but if he wanted truthful answers, he has no other choice.

"You won't do that, Naru." Yuka's expression turned broken as she remembered what happened the last time Narumi tried to use his Alice on her.

"I will if I must. Don't try me, Yuka-senpai. You won't be able to do anything about it," Narumi said firmly. He then raised his hand and opened his palm, revealing a mandarin orange Alice stone.

Yuka's eyes widened considerably upon recognition. "I-Is that from Mi-Mikan?"

"Yes, now answer my question," Narumi commanded as he closed his hand once again, hiding away the precious Alice stone that Mikan gave him.

Seeing no other option but to do as she was told, Yuka began hesitantly, "I… I didn't want you to be involved."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Maybe it was because you'd be in danger, but I really don't know."

Narumi's hand reached out to lift Yuka's chin up and he searched through Yuka's eyes. When he found what he wanted, he nodded and released her chin. "Why did you leave me again?"

"You… You looked like you were willing to risk everything for me and… and I didn't want that."

Narumi's brazen eyes looked into Yuka's angrily. "That wasn't for you to decide! Even if you didn't want it, you shouldn't have just disappeared on me again!"

Narumi still remembered how happy he was when he was left with the promise of being able to keep seeing Yuka six years ago, but all that joy was crushed into dust when he never heard back from Yuka-senpai. Yuka-senpai had left him behind once again and this time, the pain was so unbearable that he almost died from heartbreak. He became even more withdrawn into his shell while allowing the outer cheerful and carefree façade take over. That period of time was the darkest moment in his entire life, even darker than his early school life, even darker when Yuka used her Alice on him and left him.

"I… I am sorry, Naru. I really am. I realized how foolish I've been, but I don't regret it. It was what I thought was best for both you and I, and it is still what I believe is best." Yuka's voice started weak but by the end, she was speaking her words with strength and determination.

"Well, **I **don't think it's best and I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that you won't run away again. You can't keep me out of it anymore. I am the best connection you have to Mikan and I don't think you are willing to lose that, are you?" While reliving the memory of their last encounter at Izumi's grave site, Narumi realized something. It was a knowledge that only he was privy to and it was a knowledge that he's going to withhold from everyone else, for now.

Sakura Mikan was not only the daughter of Azumi Yuka and Yukihira Izumi, but she was also the infamous Yojinbo-san, which means she's working for the elementary school principal and Persona.

He didn't know how Yuka and Shiki haven't linked those two facts together yet, but he wasn't going to let them in on this knowledge anytime soon.

* * *

It was third period with Jinno as the teacher and he was giving the students a review in preparation for the finals. Meanwhile, Mikan was staring out the window and half paying attention to what her teacher was saying when suddenly, her phone began to vibrate.

'_It's probably Rei…_' she thought to herself as she immediately teleported to the edge of the Northern forest without a trace. After that incident during the Alice festival, Rei started avoiding Mikan and even took up the task he was usually unwilling to take in order to leave the campus. However, before Rei left, Mikan initiated conciliation and the two made up almost spontaneously, which didn't come as a surprise to any that knew them. A cold war between the two never lasted long.

Opening her phone, she said, "Moshi moshi?"

"Good afternoon, Mikan," a familiar voice greeted over the phone and Mikan's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Rei!" Mikan called out with joy.

"Mikan, how are you doing?"

"Nothing much. Class is boring as usual. You are a much better teacher, especially compared to Jinno-sensei," Mikan remarked as she began walking around the edge of the forest and formed a barrier around her in case anyone was looking outside.

"I am sure. Jinno was always the strict and boring one, but if I can live through it, you can as well," Rei said with a chuckle.

"Yeah yeah, are you coming back soon?"

"If everything goes as planned, then I should be returning around six or seven tonight."

"Alright, I will be waiting for you then. Is everything going well over there? I hope they are not making it hard for you." Mikan really hated those government officials who knew nothing about them and yet acted all high and mighty when in fact, they were scared of the power that Alices have. This was one reason why Rei works as the liaison between the gakuen and the government. A mere threatening glare can make them shut up and stop being so demanding.

"Not really, but I am trying to increase the funds for the gakuen and forcing them to stop accepting those petty missions that just aren't worth the trouble or the ones that are worth more than we are paid."

Although most of the missions that the dangerous ability class acquires are through Mikan, the rest are assigned by the government.

"Yeah, good luck on that."

"I don't need luck, a mere glare will do. Plus, the gakuen does have many pawns within the government so that should make things much easier."

"True true."

"Hey Mikan…"

And so they began talking about everything and nothing.

* * *

**Back at the classroom… half an hour later…**

Natsume finally woke up from his nap only to realize that Mikan's presence was missing. He raised his hand, surprising everyone. Jinno, who was interrupted in the middle of his lecture, was, of course, not pleased by the interruption. "Yes, Hyuuga-san?"

"Where is Sakura?" He questioned with his head gesturing towards the empty seat beside him. Everyone looked over at where Mikan was supposed to be, only to find her absent.

"I would like to know that as well," Jinno remarked dryly.

'_Is he really a teacher? He didn't even realize his student disappeared on him,_' Natsume thought to himself with a raised eyebrow.

Suddenly, Mikan materialized from thin air and found everyone staring at her with shocked eyes, except for Natsume and Jinno who regarded her with suspicion, and Hotaru's eyes that were filled with curiosity.

"Hi?" Mikan greeted with a smile.

"Can you please inform me where you went, Sakura?" Jinno questioned with a threatening glare.

"I had to take care of something," Mikan replied with a shrug.

"Mind informing the class what was so important that you had to disappear in the middle of class?" Jinno's eyes got even more intense.

"It is of no concern to the class," Mikan retorted dismissively.

Jinno's face started heating up from his growing anger and he raised his pointer, preparing to use his Alice on Mikan.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Mikan stated rather calmly. The class's eyes widened.

"And why would I listen to a disobedient student such as you?" Jinno demanded.

"Because it would be the end of you." The class was surprised by this exchange, mostly because Mikan was usually so shy and quiet (even after she was announced to be the new dangerous ability class representative), with a few exceptions, but now she seemed to be so confident and unlike her usual self. It was as if she was someone completely different.

"The end of me?" Jinno repeated, his eyes narrowing. He clearly didn't believe her, but he had to be careful as instructed by Yukihira-kouchou, who assigned him to watch over this child. They were trying to see what happened to Yuka's daughter who disappeared without a trace for 15 years and suddenly reappeared in the company of Persona, the gakuen's most dangerous teacher. Yukihira conducted some investigations on Mikan and information did appear, but when his people searched for people who could have possibly known her. No one turned up, she was an enigma.

"Yes. I really _don't_ appreciate being injured. It's a pain in the butt," Mikan replied nonchalantly.

Jinno's glare got even more menacing. "Why do you think you will be able to stop me?"

"Sensei, please do remember I have both the nullification and teleportation Alice."

A tick of annoyance appeared on Jinno's head, but then an idea appeared in his mind. Jinno smirked. "Report to Yukihira-kouchou's office immediately. You have a week of detention as punishment."

'_So he is using this as an excuse to keep an eye on me and give ojisan a chance to meet with me. Very smart. But detention might mess up my schedule a little. I guess I can always have an illusion of me reading a book up when, in reality, I am working on my paperwork… Yeah, that could work," _Mikan thought with a smug smile. '_Or I can always get a doppelganger._' Then Mikan inwardly frowned at a sudden thought. '_But Rei is coming home today and I haven't seen him for two days, so I was going to cook him a dinner. Maybe I can delay the detention to tomorrow…_'

Mikan finally spoke up with a polite smile, "I don't mind. In fact, detention with you sounds very pleasant, but unfortunately, I have some things to take care of today so I am afraid we will have to delay the detention one day, Jinno-sensei."

Jinno contemplated for a moment. "I think you misunderstood. Your detention won't be with me, it will be with Yukihira-kouchou in his office. So whether you can push back your detention or not is not up to me, you will have to ask him yourself.

"Hm… I guess that's―" Mikan began but was interrupted by the announcement speaker coming on.

"Please excuse this interruption. Would Sakura Mikan of the high school section please go to the elementary school principal's office immediately?" an announcer spoke. "I repeat, would Sakura Mikan of the high school section please go to the elementary school principal's office immediately?"

Mikan furrowed her brows as she thought about what could be so urgent that required Kage-otousan to call her to his office so spontaneously through an announcement. Couldn't he have just called her cell phone?

The class stared at Mikan in surprise as they wondered about what the elementary school principal wanted with Mikan since they were supposed to be under Yukihira-kouchou's management now.

"Well, I guess I should report to Kuonji-kouchou's office now and visit Yukihira-kouchou's office later," Mikan said and began walking towards the classroom's doors. "See you later, Jinno-sensei."

Hotaru, who had been watching the exchange with curiosity, decided to send Azu after Mikan to satisfy her curiosity.

"Oh and Hotaru-chan? Please don't attempt to send Azu after me, as you should know by now, just because it worked once, it doesn't mean it'll work again." With that, Mikan disappeared into thin air.

Everyone's eyes widened and Hotaru cursed softly under her breath. Natsume just narrowed his eyes in suspicion and thought, '_What does Kuonji want with her? Maybe it's a personal mission?'_

On the other hand, the other dangerous ability class students shared a look and thought among the same times.

Then the school bell rung, signaling the end of class and the start of lunch.

* * *

**In Kuonji's office…**

"Good afternoon, Kuonji-kouchou," Mikan greeted as she materialized in front of Kageri's desk.

"Mikan," Kageri greeted with a soft smile, signaling that it's okay to drop the formalities since they are alone. He hasn't seen her for a few days and definitely missed her presence.

"Why did you call me here, Kage-otousan?" Mikan questioned as she appeared right in front of Kageri and gave him a hug. He visibly loosened at her touch and returned the hug.

"There's an emergency, but quick, mission that only you can handle without injury," Kageri informed.

"I see."

"Yes, the mission will start as soon as you are ready. I figured that you have something planned for Persona after school so I decided to excuse you from your classes and be back before school ends."

"Oh, thank you so much, Kage-otousan!" Mikan said happily with a joyful smile as she stood back and leaned against Kageri's desk. "Would you like to join us for dinner tonight? Or would you rather have dinner with me alone on another day as a token of thanks?"

"I am busy tonight, so another day."

"Alright. But you are gonna have to wait for another week. I have a one week detention at Yukihira-kouchou's place waiting for me. Plus, I also have to report to Yukihira-kouchou soon. It was actually supposed to be right now, but I guess it can wait."

Kageri's eyes hardened and he was suspicious behind the motives of this detention. "Who was the one that gave you detention and why?"

"Jinno and yes I know what you are thinking. He is using this as an excuse to let Yukihira-kouchou observe me. But it's all going according to our plan," Mikan said with a knowing smile. "Oh, and I was in trouble because I teleported away in the middle of class. Rei called and we talked for about a half an hour."

"I see. And true, it is going according to plan, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I will inform him that you have some matters to take care of so you will go to his office tomorrow instead."

"We knew this was going to happen, we even had this planned out, Kage-otousan"

Kageri responded with his silence.

"Oh come on, Kage-otousan!"

The silence ensued.

'_I don't want to lose you, Mikan,_' Kageri thought.

Although she wasn't supposed to know what he was referring to, she did. To reassure him, Mikan embraced Kageri's stiff figure.

Kageri just closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth given by the hug in silence.

"Enough of this, let's get to my mission so that I can come back quicker," Mikan said with a smile and leaned back against the table.

"I know that it's you who usually takes care of organizing the missions, but this one came in just earlier and we needed to react to it immediately," Kageri informed as he took a manila envelope off the desk and held it to her.

Once it was in her hands, Mikan immediately took out the contents. She began reading it while listening to the mission's briefing given by her otousan.

"My sources informed me that Z had a ship coming in this morning to a dock in Yokkaichi with large amounts of explosives. They are currently transporting those explosives to a warehouse located in Osaka and your job is to locate the explosives, eliminate the Z agents there and either blow up those explosives in a contained explosion or steal it from Z if you think we need it. During this mission, you are on your own and you have my permission to do whatever you want as long as it stays quiet from the public and you complete your mission."

"Understood. This is going to be fun," Mikan remarked with a smirk.

"I know. That's partially why I assigned this mission to you instead of another agent of mine. Just be careful, alright?"

"Of course! Arigatou, Kage-otousan!" Mikan exclaimed and gave Kageri another hug before disappearing into the thin air.

Kageri chuckled before picking up the phone and dialing Yukihira's office number.

The call was picked up after two rings. "Moshi moshi? This is Yukihira Kazu speaking."

"Greetings, Yukihira," Kageri greeted with his usual cruel and cold tone. Even his expression was a huge contrast to the one he had when Mikan was there.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this call, Kuonji?" Kazu asked with obvious distaste. He had never liked this man and he never will.

"I just wanted to inform you that Sakura Mikan will not be joining you this afternoon and her detention with you will have to wait until tomorrow," Kageri informed with a knowing smirk on his face.

A shocked silence was the high school principal's response. After Kazu got over his initial shock, he spoke with hidden anger. "And why may that be?"

Kuonji detected Yukihira's anger and relished in it. "Oh, nothing of importance, she just had some matters to take care of, that's all."

"What did you do to her?"

"Oh, how hurtful," Kageri replied mockingly. "Why would you think I did something to her?"

"I know you, Kuonji. Sakura-san wouldn't just suddenly have some matter to take care of that doesn't involve you after meeting with you. Now answer my question. What did you do to her?"

"As I have said, I have done nothing to her."

"Kuonji," Yukihira's anger was practically leaking from his words now. He was obviously worried about the safety of his only niece. "Why did you met with her then? You wouldn't have met her for no reason at all."

'_And that's where you are wrong. Apparently, you don't know me as well as you think,_' Kageri thought with a wry smile. "That is of no concern to you, Yukihira. I have informed you what I was told. So, farewell, Yukihira." Kageri then hung up the phone without waiting for a reply.

* * *

**With Yukihira…**

"That is of no concern to you, Yukihira. I have informed you what I was told. So, farewell, Yukihira." Kuonji then hung up on him.

"Damn that Kuonji," Kazu cursed angrily and glanced up to meet the questioning look Jinno was sending him. "Mikan is going to meet with me tomorrow instead and won't start detention until tomorrow. Kuonji said that she had some matters to take care of today. Damn that bastard."

"Ah." Jinno understood why Kazu was angry but Kuonji must have really ticked him off a lot for the principal to curse excessively.

"Hey, you know it's not nice to be cursing at someone and calling them a bastard…" a voice called out and both men looked over to the source. They were thrown into a stupor by the person who greeted their sight. Sakura Mikan was sitting there on the windowsill, swinging her legs back and forth with a pout on her lips.

"Mi-Mikan?" The surprise shown on Kazu's face was priceless. His niece was sitting there like there's nothing wrong in the world after meeting with the elementary school principal.

"Good afternoon, Yukihira-kouchou, Jinno-sensei," Mikan greeted with a smile and a nod at each of them.

"Mi― Sakura-san! What are you doing here? I thought… I thought―" Kazu stood up and took a step forward.

Mikan then cut through what he was saying. "You thought I was kidnapped or tortured?" Mikan questioned with a knowing stare.

Kazu numbly nodded.

Jinno just watched the exchange with surprise and slight amusement. He had seen the principal really angered, surprised and stuttered in just two minutes.

"You really shouldn't assume that. Kuonji-kouchou and I were just talking," Mikan chided. "I really have something to take care of. Kuonji-kouchou was just passing on a message. But I had a feeling that you wouldn't believe him, so I decided to drop by."

"What do you need to take care of?" Kazu questioned, still not believing that Kuonji was really telling the truth.

"Nothing of importance. But speaking of which… I really need to get going. Farewell then!" Mikan hopped down and bowed slightly as she said her last words.

"Wait!" Kazu called out, but Mikan had already disappeared into the thin air. "I guess I will just have to wait until tomorrow…"

"Kuonji was actually telling the truth, huh…" Jinno remarked.

Kazu settled back into his seat. "I guess so, but the question here now is _why_?"

* * *

"PHEW! Finals are finally over!" Koko shouted as he wiped off the imaginary sweat from his forehead and relished in the joy of having burden of finals off his back, not that he really studied. He always just did the bare minimum to retain his star ranking.

"Yeah, you can say that again!" Kitsuneme agreed with a big smile.

Sumire rolled her eyes at the duo's usual theatrics before whacking them on the head with her palm.

"Ow!" the duo cried out, rubbing the base of their head to ease the pain.

"Narumi's prompts were as flamboyant and unpredictable as usual," Hotaru remarked with annoyance. Unlike most years, Narumi's Grammar finals turned out to be on the last day of testing while the music, art and P.E. finals were on the first day.

"I am glad I didn't study too hard on Japanese," Yuu remarked. Having known these teachers for so long allowed them to be familiar with their test styles.

"But that was probably the most fun I've had with Narumi's finals!" Koko interjected; referring to the interesting prompt they were given. For once, Narumi's prompts didn't have anything to do with love. Instead, this time's prompt had been "Write a narrative about how Jinno-sensei came into possession of his frog."

Most of the class nodded in agreement, they've been so used to Narumi's unusual and distasteful prompts that it actually came as a surprise to them when they enjoyed writing this prompt.

"I hope you guys didn't write anything stupid for this prompt…" Hotaru commented dryly.

"Eh? What do you mean, Hotaru-chan?" Anna inquired curiously as most of the class paid attention to their conversation.

With a roll of her eyes, Hotaru explained, "As you should have realized, this is a graded test that will be read by Narumi and possibly, other teachers, so if you guys really did write anything stupid, I hope Jinno will shed mercy on you if he reads it."

By the time Hotaru's explanation ended, half of the class's face paled considerably.

"Idiots," Hotaru muttered as she turned to look at the only absent seat in the classroom, it was the seat of Sakura Mikan.

"Hey! The teachers just posted something outside!" one of the students announced as he ran inside the classroom, breathless.

"Eh?" several students exclaimed in surprise. It was unusual for the teachers to post anything up right after finals.

Almost everyone in the classroom ran outside while the rest followed them calmly, but with equal curiosity.

"Due to the absence of Sakura Mikan-san, the ranking and test results of the students of the high school section will come out after Sakura Mikan-san has taken her test," one student read. Whispers erupted from the crowd of students as soon as that student finished. It was well known that Sakura Mikan has been absent ever since the announcement that requested her presence at the elementary school principal's office took place.

"I wonder where Mikan-chan went…" Nonoko voiced what everyone else wanted to know. So far, none of the teachers have discerned the reason for Mikan's absence and whenever a student asked about it, they would reply with the uniformed answer, "You will just have to ask her when she returns."

"She will definitely not get the best student award since she missed finals," Sumire remarked snidely. It was common knowledge that if one missed the finals somehow, they will have to make it up no matter what. However, even if they were to get the top grade, they wouldn't be receiving the best student award simply because they missed the finals and had to take it late.

"Yeah, that's true," Anna said with sadness evident in her voice.

"Well, it's not like she has a home or family to return to anyways," Sumire stated with a snicker.

"Huh? What do you mean, Sumire-chan?" Nonoko asked with evident bemusement.

"Oh? You guys didn't know? Sakura Mikan is an orphan from Kyōto!"

"Really? That's horrible!" both Anna and Nonoko expressed as they held on to each other's hand.

"Yeah and―" Sumire continued, but she was interrupted by none other than Natsume, who has been watching her with disgust.

"Shut it, Shouda," Natsume commanded frostily, his eyes glaring at Sumire.

The class's eyes widened in shock, Natsume has never defended anyone, with the exception of Ruka, of course.

"Bu-But, Natsume-kun, she―" Sumire protested.

"I said shut it, Shouda, or do I have to repeat myself?" Natsume interrupted yet again, his glare intensifying, and Sumire quickly shook her head in negation. He didn't know why, but he felt protective of Mikan and felt the need to speak up for her. Plus, his irritation towards the postponed releasing of test scores didn't help either. Before turning away, Natsume added, "You disgust me, Shouda."

Natsume then walked away without a backward glance and Ruka quickly trailed after him while Hotaru just smirked before leaving on her duck scooter.

Flabbergasted by Natsume's statement, Sumire's face resembled that of a fish out of the water and when laughter were heard from the nearby crowd, her cheeks reddened from humiliation.

* * *

Like any other typical day, Natsume was sitting on a branch of his favorite sakura tree, whose location is now at the outer edge of the Eastern Forest because this tree was closer to the junior and senior division than his old sakura tree had been, with a manga covering his face and the gentle breeze as his lone companion. After leaving Sumire, Natsume headed straight for his sakura tree while Ruka went off to the Eastern Forest to see Piyo. However, unlike the other days, he was awoken from his nap by the subtle engine of a sports car coming to a stop.

Eye snapping open in surprise, Natsume allowed his manga to slip onto his lap as he turned towards the direction of the car. It was highly unusual to have the sound of a sports car on campus. And although Natsume didn't have a wide knowledge of cars, he identified the car as a Porsche Panamera from his experience in the dangerous ability class. Persona required the class' members to have a basic knowledge of all car models since it's more convenient for the members to know such a thing by heart rather than having to look it up all the time.

However, what surprised him even more was when Mikan stepped out of the driver's seat―was it even legal for her to drive yet?―and Persona, without his mask and usual disguise—he recognized his real face from when Persona substituted, stepped out from the shotgun seat. Unexpectedly, a third person stepped out from the car. It was a black-haired teenage girl. When the girl turned to look at Mikan, her red eyes was distinguishable even from where Natsume was at.

What astounded him further was the recognition that clicked in his mind and nearly caused him to fall of the branch, but he was able to steady himself at the last minute with the help of the tree's trunk.

'_AOI!_' A million thoughts began racing through Natsume's mind. _'What is Aoi doing with Mikan? Why was she outside? Why does she seem so familiar with Mikan? Where did she go?_'

While Natsume was flooded by his questions, Mikan conversed with Aoi for a moment before handing her keys to Persona with a threatening warning to treat her car well, which only caused even more questions to appear.

Then Mikan led Aoi towards the torii of a Japanese-styled building, which Natsume noted as the Hanahime Palace. However, before Mikan walked through the torii, she sent a visible smirk towards his location.

When everyone else left the scene, Natsume was left with nothing but his dashing thoughts and stampeding questions.

* * *

The figure of a brown-and-blond-haired teenage girl dressed in a black blouse and skinny jeans with a pair of silver flip-flops materialized in the office of Kuonji Kageri. The girl immediately bowed in greeting and said, "Good afternoon, Kuonji-sama, I am back."

Looking up from his companion, Kageri stared at his pseudo daughter with his usual cold and hard expression. "Did everything go well?"

Mikan nodded as she returned to a formal standing position with her back completely straight.

Turning to face his companion once more, Kageri closed the file in his hands as he requested, "I would like to speak with her immediately, so can you please excuse us and return at a more opportune time later, Shirou-san?"

Shirou Kagaseki, the head scientist of the Alice research facility under the directions of Kageri, nodded briefly as he closed his file as well and got up. He understood that even though the words sounded like a request, it was an absolute order that cannot be disobeyed. "Of course, will you be available tomorrow afternoon, Kuonji-sama?"

"I believe so, but please confirm it with my secretary."

"I understand. Have a nice day, Kuonji-sama." The scientist then proceeded to leave the room after a parting bow.

As soon as the door closed behind the scientist, Kageri's face softened and sported a small gentle smile. "It's good to have you back, Mikan."

Mikan teleported and gave Kageri a brief hug before reappearing on the chair in front of Kageri's desk. "Although, I love France and Germany, it's good to be back on Japanese soil as well."

After Mikan was called away from class the other day, she immediately headed to what was supposed to be a quick mission. However, her mission developed into something more when she discovered the supplier of the firearms and a deeper plot behind their arrival at Yokkaichi. It turns out Z wasn't the only anti-Alice organization behind it and in addition, this was not going to be the last of the firearms. Z and its partner-in-crime constructed a contract with an underground firearm organization and another anti-Alice organization in Europe and this batch of firearms was just a test run to see if everything would go smoothly.

Thus, after destroying the firearms at the Osaka warehouse, Mikan told Kageri about her discovery and informed him that she required an absence of leave in order to take care of this new development before it gets out or hand. In return, Kageri sent Persona to support her as soon as his meetings with the government were done. However, because this was a leave on a momentary notice, Mikan sent Rei to retrieve Aoi and her cats from the Hanahime Den since they would starve otherwise. In the end, while everyone else wondered where Mikan went, Mikan, Rei, Aoi and the felines spent ten days in France and Germany.

"Did everything go smoothly?" Kageri questioned, already knowing the answer.

"Of course," as Mikan said this, she passed the manila folder she was holding to Kageri. "While in Germany, I found the head of the underground firearm organization and 'persuaded' him to join our side instead. When I reached France, the anti-Alice organization there already caught wind of the failed cargo transportation and was in a state of panic because of how easily this operation was wiped out. Although I should have just left the job to the European branches of Alice Academy, I didn't want the anti-Alice organization here to be able to reach them anymore, so I eliminated the entire organization. The Alice Academies there should be thanking me."

Kageri just chuckled at Mikan's tactics. "You are definitely the best at what you do."

Mikan beamed at Kageri's compliment. "Of course." Mikan's face then turned serious. "Should I get rid of the anti-Alice organization that's working with Z as well?"

Kageri thought about it for a moment before replying, "No… they are not enough of a threat to require elimination yet."

"Alright. Well, I believe I should go report my return to the teachers now."

Kageri's smile dimmed at the mention of the teachers. "Yes, indeed. Do your best on the finals as well, Mikan."

* * *

An announcement read, "In spite of Sakura Mikan-san having the top score, the best student award will go to the student with the second top score, Tobita Yuu-san due to Sakura-san having to make up her finals and the policy that disallows the award going to a new student. In addition, Tobita-san's spotless record and outstanding academic achievement further endorses his validity as the award's candidate. Thus, this semester's best student award will go to Tobita Yuu-san."

"Congratulations, linchou-san!" The first congratulation came from none other than Sakura Mikan, who was looking at Yuu with sincerity.

"A-Ah! I am so sorry, Sakura-san!" Yuu apologized with a deep bow.

Mikan just chuckled and with her arm, she elevated Yuu from his bow. "Don't worry about it, you don't have anything to apologize for, linchou-san! It's not like I would have anywhere to go to anyways!"

"But still…" Yuu was still unsure. Although he was ecstatic to be able to see his family again, he felt guilty for 'taking' Mikan's place.

"No buts! Now go pack up for your trip and if you really feel so bad, bring me souvenirs from your hometown!" Mikan interrupted cheerfully, pushing Yuu towards the exit of the high school section.

Yuu nodded profusely. "I will!"

"Now go!" Mikan made a shooing motion.

Without another encouragement, Yuu left the high school building and walked towards the dormitories.

Once Yuu was gone from sight, Natsume approached Mikan. "I want to talk to you, Sakura."

Molding her expression into that of a regretful one, Mikan turned to face Natsume. "I am sure you would like to, but unfortunately, I still have to go serve my detention, Hyuuga."

Natsume narrowed his eyes, but he made no motion to stop Mikan when she headed towards the exit as well.

* * *

'_Why is she still not contacting me?_' Natsume thought angrily as he leaned against the trunk of his favorite sakura tree. It's been a week since the results of the first semester exam came out and as he expected, he got an A on every single subject, which surprised many since he's never attempted to take the test seriously before. However, even though it's been a week, the ever-evading yojinbo-san still hasn't contacted him with the details regarding their deal. '_Could it be that she was only playing with me?_'

However, he was broken from his thoughts when he heard approaching footsteps. Looking down, he found the figure of Sakura Mikan standing in front of the trunk and looking up at him.

"Congratulations on getting an A in every single subject, Hyuuga," Mikan praised with a warm smile, but in a second, her expression turned serious. "Now… regarding the deal you struck with Yojinbo-san…"

Shock invaded Natsume's entire being.

* * *

**Note:**

Yokkaichi does have a port and the Port of Yokkaichi exports industrial products made in the city and imports raw materials. The AAO are smuggling their explosives in by having the façade of the import of crude oil and petroleum products. And the shipping company used is actually owned by the workers of AAO. Crude oil and petroleum products make up 90% of the imports in Yokkaichi.

Osaka actually has the largest share of warehouse area in the 47 prefectures of Japan with most of the warehouses concentrated in the port district around Osaka.

Although the high school principal's name can be interpreted as "Kazumi", I prefer "Kazu" so I am going to usually have it as that.

Zen is modeled from Zen from "Blank Slate". Regarding his Alice, think of Shiki from Vampire Knight.

"Suiren" of "Tsutsumi Suiren" means "water lily".

"Kairaishi" of "Kairaishi Gin" means "puppet player" while "Gin" means "silver".

I personally don't like OCs myself, well, most of them anyways, but it is necessary to have OCs in this story because it would be unrealistic if the dangerous ability class was made up of the same people in this current time frame. However, I do often forget about the dangerous ability class students who are in the same class as Natsume and Mikan—as there is only one, so I apologize for that.

The sports car Mikan was driving is a metallic grayish black Porsche Panamera S Hybrid 2011. If you want, you can google it or you can just go to the "In the Closet" section of my profile (- the link's at the very bottom) and press the link that will direct you to the images (It's hosted from my Word Press account because I am tired of having my links disappear on me.).

A torii is "a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine". (from Wikipedia) An image of this can also either be found through googling it, through my word press account (which can be accessed through my fanfiction profile), or using some other method.

As prompted by Mikan, all of the dangerous ability class students have training in different terrains (like water, marsh, mud, snow, etc) in order to make sure their skills won't be drastically hindered by a change of terrain. However, each student would usually specialize in a terrain that relates to their Alices the most. For example, Suiren specializes in water terrain training.

Azu is the program that Mikan gave Hotaru in chapter 12 for the Northern Forest challenge.

In case you guys got confused, what I meant when Natsume's favorite sakura tree is now at the Eastern Forest is that Natsume basically just switched favorites. The sakura tree back in the Northern Forest still exists; he didn't physically move the tree.

* * *

**A/N:** So how did you like that? I hope you enjoyed it. :) Unfortunately, there wasn't much Rei and Mikan action in this one. :( There will be more next chapter. Sorry, **ashley6445**! . I promise your request will be complied with soon!

This chapter was pretty much a transitional chapter that will bring this story closer to its climax/end. I am estimating this story to be about 20 chapters, but I might be wrong since it's just a rough guess. Even though I am shooting for that, this story just takes off on its own once I start writing it.

This chapter was also pretty unique because it's a chapter I wrote based on an outline (which I usually don't do) and actually followed it. It was pretty easy to write once I started and it just flowed. :)

**Well, anyways, happy belated Thanksgiving and happy birthday to Natsume! I hope you are content with getting to see your sister, 'cause that's all you are getting from me. The next update will probably come by Christmas or 1/1/2012, Mikan's pseudo birthday. :D **Well, it might please you readers to know that I started outlining chapter 16 today and even wrote a chunk of it (involuntarily, but couldn't stop). The next chapter's name is "The Confrontations" and here's a sneak peak into the part I've written, which I believe is the climax of the chapter:

* * *

Hotaru was staring at them with tears at the corner of her usually emotionless eyes―whether or not she was aware of them, they did not know.

Turning around, Mikan called out, "You know, it's not very nice to sneak up on someone, Rei."  
When Rei stepped out of the trees' shadows, a look of fury and obvious jealousy was plastered all over his face.  
Mikan smirked. "So you saw us just now, huh?"

"Why? Why are you like this?" Rei questioned, enraged by her seemingly careless attitude about all of this. "How can you brush me off just like that?"

Rei's hands moved to Mikan's cheeks, holding them so that they have no way of escaping his stare. "Please, Mikan, don't do this to yourself. Whatever you are planning, don't shut off your feelings! Both for the sake of yourself and everyone around you, especially me!"  
Rei's body was trembling by the end, as he added, "I beg you."

Mikan's eyes enlarged considerably and just as suddenly, she broke into tears and dropped to her knees. "Why? Why? Why can't you just let me be? Why can't you let us stay as the best of friends? Why are you forcing us to take that step forward to the point on of no return? Why? WHY?"

"Mikan! Mikan! MIKAN! What's wrong?"

* * *

How was that? Enough to keep you satisfied until my next update? Enough to keep you hanging? :D

But yeah, right now, I am in love with the song Russian Roulette by Rihanna because of this ReixMikan pairing one-shot I read a few days ago―it's called "Game of Love" by Secretive Music―and now as this song runs on repeat on my computer, the scenes from this one-shot just keeps running through my head and I get so into the lyrics that I completely ignore everything around me or blank out. You guys should go read it~! :D

Until next time~

Best wishes always,  
zenophobiaz

**Published:** 11/29/11


	16. Chapter 16: The Confrontations

A/N:Hey there people! Thanks to everyone else who read, story-alerted and/or favorited the previous chapter. However, special, SPECIAL thanks to **Akatsuki Utaou**,** TheProcrastinators** and** Eternal Cat Moon** for reviewing the previous chapter! *sigh* Gotta admit, you guys hurt me with your sudden lack of reviews, but at least I got something, so no complains here (Okay, so maybe there are some, but who can blame me?). Guess you guys didn't really like the previous chapter. :(

Thus, a late upload is your punishment. :P LOL, no, not really, it's what my friend suggested as my excuse though. I just couldn't seem to figure out how to begin this one scene (*spoiler* the one with Ruka and Mikan) and I was busy, so that's my excuse. Plus, I started two stories on somewhere else in the meantime.

Without further ado, a "Happy New Year" and belated "Merry Christmas" to your readers, and a happy pseudo birthday to Sakura Mikan. :) Enjoy this finally normal-length chapter~! I apologize for any mistakes and typos in advance. Excuse my continuously long author notes.

* * *

**Notes:**

From now on, underlined text like this means that its meaning will-be/was explained in the notes.

"Cesse de jouer la comédie!" means "Stop putting on an act!"

"Baka" means "fool" or "idiot".

Kuroneko ― 'kuro' is 'black' and 'neko' is 'cat'. Thus, 'kuroneko' is 'black cat'.

"-sensei" is an honorific used to refer to teachers, doctors, politicians and possibly other authority figures. It also applies to novelists, poets, painters, and other artists, including those awesome manga artists. It's also used in Japanese martial arts. But in the world of fanfic, it is usually used with a teacher. For ex: Jinno-sensei and Serina-sensei. [Explanation was adapted from Wikipedia]

* * *

**Light in the Darkness Chapter 16 — The Confrontations**

* * *

"I think it'd be best if you were to stop following me now, Hyuuga," the figure in front of him piped up as it spun around.

Natsume couldn't help but take a step backwards in surprise. After a moment of silence, he met her unreadable stare and asked, "You knew all this time?"

Half an hour ago, Mikan had dropped by his favorite sakura tree to pick up his gift for Aoi and promptly left afterwards. Because of a rash decision and a belief that this girl will immediately deliver his gift, Natsume ended up following said girl and at first, he believed he successfully traced—he refused to think of his actions as stalking—her without her noticing, but now, he realized he'd only been able to follow her because she allowed it.

"Of course, as I've told you and many others before, I practically know everything that goes on in this academy. Plus, you should know by now that there's a reason I'm the dangerous ability class' representative," Mikan blandly stated; amusement was the only showing emotion on her face and to be honest, it ticked Natsume off.

Natsume merely nodded as her words triggered a memory.

_It was a week after the results of the semester finals came out, but yojinbo-san still hadn't contacted Natsume yet and to be said plainly, he was angered and annoyed. But his thoughts were interrupted when he felt a presence nearing the sakura tree he laid in. It was Sakura Mikan._

"_Congratulations on getting an A in every single subject, Hyuuga," Mikan praised with a warm smile, but in a second, her expression turned serious. "Now… regarding the deal you struck with yojinbo-san…"_

_Shock invaded Natsume's entire being._

"_W-who are you? How do you know?" Natsume managed to get out._

_A mysterious smile spread across Mikan's face. "I'm the messenger yojinbo-san sent. She's currently busy, so in her place, I'll handle this deal."_

_Silence settled between the two as Natsume allowed this new piece of information to sink in._

"_In order to not waste anymore time, let's just get on with the matter." Mikan was the first to speak. "Do you have the present with you?"_

_Natsume shook his head. "No, I left it in my room."_

_Mikan nodded as if what Natsume said affirmed her suspicion. "I thought so; normal people wouldn't be bringing their presents with them everywhere." Natsume narrowed his eyes at her statement, unable to tell whether it was meant as an insult or not. "Anyways, I'll meet you here in three days' time to pick up the present. Since it's a Saturday, I'll meet you here at one in the afternoon. Don't be late, alright?"_

_Natsume nodded with an "hn"._

_Mikan then clapped her hands with a joyful smile. "Alright then, now that that's settled, I must go. See you later, Hyuuga!"_

_With a wave, Mikan swirled around and began to walk away._

"_Hold on!" Natsume called out as he jumped off the branch he was on. _

_Mikan halted and turned around with a questioning look. "Eh, what is it?"_

"_Tell me, what were you doing with my sister?" Natsume bluntly asked with an intense look in his eyes._

_Comprehension dawned on Mikan's expression. With a shrug, she said, "Who knows?"_

"_You and Persona would know. Answer me!" Then a thought occurred to Natsume. "You know she's my sister?"_

"_Of course, there's barely a thing about this academy I don't know," Mikan stated in a mater-of-fact tone._

"_Then tell me, why was Aoi in that car? Did she return from somewhere? Where did she go? Why did she look so happy? What are you guys doing to her? Why—" Question after question shot from Natsume's mouth before he was interrupted by Mikan's giggles._

"_What's so funny?" Natsume demanded tensely._

_Mikan tilted her head as if to ask "What's not funny about this?" as she answered with her own questions, "Your questions are funny. Shouldn't you be happy that your sister is having fun? Why do you seem so unhappy about this? In addition, why can't Aoi go somewhere? Will you only be happy if she was to be trapped in a dark and damp dungeon?"_

_Natsume narrowed his eyes. "What kind of questions are those? Of course I'm happy she's safe and all, but—"_

"_But what?" Mikan interrupted. "But you're not happy that she's having fun while you're here suffering? You're not happy because she's having fun without you? You're not happy because you're the only one suffering? Because you're the only one left behind while everyone else has moved on? Ugh, I would dump an orb of water on you, but that's just a waste of energy. Grow up, Hyuuga; you're the one who brought this upon yourself. You might think I'm over-reacting right now, but you'll thank me later. You need a wake-up call. Just because you've lost some things doesn't mean you can't have fun. It doesn't mean you can just keep dwelling on your own pain and suffering. It doesn't mean you have to trap yourself in the past. Ruka-pyon has accepted that fact and moved on. It doesn't mean he's forgotten about Aoi and doesn't feel guilty and bad about it; he's still searching for her in every possible way, but it doesn't mean he can't enjoy his life. Life's short, Hyuuga, especially if you have the fourth shape; you need to stop wallowing in this darkness you've entrapped yourself in."_

_Natsume's eyes widened in surprise and he was speechless. Natsume wanted to tell her that she's just twisting his words and she's talking nonsense, but… he realized she was right, albeit reluctantly._

"_Ugh, I hate ranting like that, especially if it's hypocritical talk. Who am I to talk anyways?" Mikan muttered to herself. "Anyways, Hyuuga, those are just my words of advice and if you don't accept it, fine, I won't blame you, but this is what Aoi would tell you if she sees what you are doing to yourself."_

"_Then tell me… tell me where Aoi is and what I can do to get her back," Natsume desperately whispered, peering up into Mikan's eyes pleadingly._

_Mikan looked regretful. "Sorry, but I can't."_

_Frustration griped onto Natsume's insides. He shouted, "So you told me all that and now you say you won't help me? Why won't you tell me?"_

"_Because you'll find out soon enough. Plus, you don't need Aoi to leave this darkness. That's what Ruka-pyon and your friends are for." Mikan paused for a second. "Anyways, I should go now, Kuonji-kouchou and Persona are waiting for me." _

_With that, Mikan turned around and proceeded to walk away._

"Hello? Hello? Earth to Hyuuga?"

Jolted out of his memory, Natsume met Mikan's eyes and found her standing in front of him with a hand waving over his eyes.

Annoyed, Natsume ordered, "Stop that, you baka."

Mikan's hand dropped to her side as her cheeks puffed out with similar annoyance. "I'm the baka? You are the one who was standing there and spacing out like a fool! I was just trying to help you, you ungrateful brat!"

"Me, a brat?" Natsume stared at her with a condescending smirk. "Look who's talking."

A tick of indignation appeared on Mikan's forehead as she crossed her arms irritably, his present for Aoi still in her one of her hands.

"Just wait 'til I tell this to Aoi-chan," Mikan muttered under her breath, as if she didn't want Natsume to hear her.

Natsume's eyes widened in surprise as Mikan, upon realizing what she said, had an o-shaped mouth.

"Crap." Mikan then spun around and tried to escape, but before she could do so, her wrist was clutched tight in Natsume's hand.

"You talk to Aoi?" Natsume asked, dumbfounded.

Mikan released a string of nervous laughter. "Of course not! I am just a mere student who's employed by yojinbo-san to deliver your present!"

Natsume clearly didn't believe her and persisted, "Where is she right now?" Suddenly, realization loomed over Natsume. Shooting a look between the Hanahime Palace in front of him and the girl he kept captive, he asked, "Is this where Aoi is kept?"

Mikan looked like she wanted to slap her hand against her forehead at her mistake. "Pftttt, why would you think that? I'm just here to look for Yamanouchi-sensei!"

It was well known that even after graduation, Yamanouchi Shizune was still a vital member of the hana hime who was often seen at the Hanahime Palace when she wasn't teaching.

Natsume rolled his eyes. "Only an idiot would believe you."

"But you are an idiot!" Mikan justified.

Before Natsume could retort, Mikan teleported out of his grasp, and reappeared in front of invisible barrier of the Hanahime Palace.

"Well, it was nice talking to you and all, but I must go now!" Mikan waved goodbye as she said her last words. She turned to leave and crossed the barrier.

Upon sensing Natsume's unmoved body, her upper body twisted to look at Natsume with a disapproving look.

"What are you still standing there for, go on now, Hyuuga, I'll see you in Central Town later." Mikan made a shooing motion as she referred to the outing in Central Town that their class invited the entire class to go to.

Seeing no other option, Natsume began to walk away.

A smirk appeared on Mikan's expression when he complied and she started walking again. "Well, that seemed to have worked out well…"

Although normal people wouldn't have been able to hear her soft words, Natsume wasn't normal. His trained hearing picked it up and his body snapped towards Mikan's fading figure. Was he supposed to hear that? He couldn't tell, but he could tell that pretending to let information slip was all just an act. As Mikan completely disappeared from his viewpoint, he began to gather up all that he learned today. First, this Hanahime Palace is probably where Aoi is kept, especially since twice—the first being his witness to Aoi and Mikan entering this palace after leaving Persona with the car—was too much of a coincidence. Second, Mikan has direct contact—possibly a friendship as well, though Natsume doesn't allow himself to dwell too much on that—with Aoi. Third, Mikan was a superb actor. Fourth, there was nothing accidental about Mikan, when you think she made a mistake, it was probably something she did on purpose.

Natsume nodded in confirmation to his gathered conclusion—retaining the possibility he might've left out something. Anyhow, a thought continued to linger in his mind, '_Should I tell the high school principal about this?_'

* * *

**Later that night…**

Natsume just got back from his trip to Central Town with his classmates and dinner with Ruka, Tobita, and that Imai girl. During the entire trip, he kept his eyes on Mikan and every now and then, Mikan would shoot him a smirk or knowing look, but otherwise, she stuck with Imai and those two twin-like girls whose names he can't recall at the moment. On the other hand, Natsume was involuntarily pulled into the group of Koko, Kitsuneme, Tobita and Ruka, although he didn't mind being with the last one. Occasionally, these two groups would merge together and Natsume rejoiced in those moments since it made his spying much easier and less suspicious.

When sunset approached and the class finished shopping for whatever they need, they decided to return to the dormitory together. However, before they left, they decided to take a class picture as a momento of their first trip with the addition of Mikan at the town square. Courtesy of Hotaru, they were able to take the photo without asking for help and to their surprise, Hotaru even promised to print out a copy for everyone free of charge. No one was able to fathom the reason for such a peculiar behavior, but they decided to just go along with it jovially.

At the moment, Natsume was walking down the corridor of the high school dormitory's special star level with his hands in his pants' front pockets. He was lost in his thoughts, but when he walked past a certain girl's room, Natsume was startled out of them when he suddenly overheard a loud exclamation of "Rei! What are you doing here?". Curious, he walked back a few steps and stopped in front of Mikan's door. Using his trained hearing, he listened in to see what in the world was going on. '_Rei? Could it be that darn Persona? Nah, it couldn't possibly be… can it?'_ Every now and then, whenever a substitute wasn't available or a teacher was unable to teach their class, Persona would come in and substitute. He has practically substituted for every single subject and although Natsume was unwilling to admit it out loud, his ability class advisor was actually pretty good at teaching. However, the point is, whenever Persona substituted, he would go by the name of Serio Rei. But the one that's inside Mikan's room couldn't possibly be Persona, could it?

* * *

**With Mikan…**

"Rei! What are you doing here!" Mikan exclaimed with surprise. She was fixing her hair in front of the mirror when Rei suddenly materialized behind her.

Rei walked towards Mikan with a small smile as he took off his mask. He then suddenly paused in his steps and gestured towards the door with his head before continuing towards the girl.

Mikan nodded with a playful smile and using telepathy, she communicated with Rei. "_Hey, wanna play with his mind a little?"_

"_Sure, what do you have in mind? Oh wait, never mind. I already know. Shall I take the lead?"_ Rei mentally replied as he stopped in front of the mirror and opened a drawer.

"_The floor is yours,_" Mikan replied with a grin and a mental curtsy.

"Mikan, you busy tonight?" Rei asked as he took out some makeup remover and began taking off his disguise.

**Natsume's eyes widened upon recognition, '**_**It really is Persona… But what the hell is he doing in Mikan's room?**_**'**

"No, why?" Mikan helped Rei.

"I want you to sleep with me tonight."

"Are you always that blunt?" Mikan replied with a chuckle.

"Only because it's always so enjoyable."

**Natsume nearly choked in clear shock. '**_**How many times have they slept together? How close are they? What the heck is Persona up to?**_**'**

Mikan read Natsume's thoughts and giggled (which Natsume mistook as a giggle of remembrance).

"But go easy on me this time, alright? I still have school tomorrow." Mikan then pulled up the Alice she copied from Serina-sensei to watch Natsume. This was all displayed on the mirror in front of them.

"As long it doesn't interfere with our fun too much."

**Natsume's eyes widened and there's a small blush on his face.**

"We will definitely have a good time, as always," Mikan said with a grin as they finished removing Rei's make-up. They then placed his mask and everything else back into the drawer.

"Want to go out for dinner first?" Rei suggested as he walked towards the door.

**Natsume quickly ran towards a wall that would hide him from view.**

Rei opened the door almost simultaneously.

"Why not?" Mikan said as she made her way to the door with a shrug before her tone changed into a seductive one. "But wouldn't it be **much** more enjoyable if I cooked for you?"

After thinking about it, Rei nodded with a smirk. "That's true, it would be _very _enjoyable. Just imagine all those things I can do to you..."

Rei held out his arm for Mikan to take as said girl released a giggle. When she finished closing and locking the door, she slipped her arm around Rei's. "Do you still have ingredients at your place? Or did you run out?"

Rei pondered for a moment before replying, "I think I ran out…"

"I thought so; I should have brought some earlier, but no matter, let's stop by Central Town first then."

"Alright," Rei responded before pressing on the button for the elevator.

"What would you like tonight?"

"Something you can quickly prepare. I would like to start our night as soon as possible," Rei said with a smirk.

Mikan slapped Rei's arm playfully. "I still need my sleep."

"Yeah yeah. But when we get started, you know that you wouldn't want me to stop."

Mikan pouted. "Bleh. Meanie!"

_Ding._ The elevator's door slid open.

Rei bent over and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

"I will make it up to you tonight," Rei promised as they stepped into the elevator.

"You better." Mikan reached over to press the button for the ground level.

As the elevator's doors closed, Rei kissed Mikan's cheek. "I will."

Mikan giggled and the elevator's doors fully closed. Mikan pulled up a 'screen' made from mist and used Serina-sensei's Alice again to watch Natsume again.

Rei went behind Mikan and looped his arms around her with his chin placed on top of her head.

"That was fun," Mikan remarked.

Rei chuckled and agreed, "Fun indeed. This must be the first time I've seen him so shocked. He even blushed!"

"Same. Bet he's going to stare at me tomorrow and try to find traces of my 'fun' tonight."

The elevator's doors opened, showing them the entrance hall and general living room of the dormitory.

"I think our dear Kuroneko is going to have a hard time sleeping tonight. Maybe I can have him go on a mission. Any available?" They headed towards the front door. It was still dinner time, so there wasn't anyone around to witness them. Plus, with Mikan's ring on both of them, all of the surveillance cameras were unable to see them.

"Yeah, probably should have him on something that's not too hard. He's pretty distracted."

"True. Let's get him after dinner. Are you coming with me tonight?" Rei nodded in agreement.

"Of course. Let's have a little more fun tonight." They exited the dormitory.

"As you wish," Rei replied as Mikan readied to use her teleportation Alice. Soon, there wasn't a single trace of them ever being here.

* * *

**With Natsume, after the elevator's doors closed…**

'_What the hell was that all about?'_ Natsume thought as he walked out of his 'hiding spot', unaware that he's just been played and being watched. '_Sakura is in a relationship with that damn Persona and they are sleeping together? Are you serious? And was that seriously Persona? He was so freaking soft and he was laughing! It wasn't even those cruel and evil ones. Did he get brain-washed?'_

A moment of realization occurred_. 'Wait a second, could it be... Is this why Mikan is so trusted and able to get such sensitive information? Is this also the reason why Persona supports her so much and why she doesn't have to go on as many missions? By sleeping with Persona? You can't be serious!'_

Although the facts are laid out before Natsume, he didn't want to believe it. He knew that Mikan was a very blurred character, but to the extent of sleeping with a teacher—not to mention it's Persona she's sleeping with, for Pete's sake—for her own benefit? Could this be really true?

'_Wait! Why the hell do I even care? She's just a freaking idiotic (not really) girl who's brought me nothing but trouble. Even so... she's just so... different. I will definitely get to the bottom of this.'_

Natsume then proceeded to enter his room and messed up his hair with frustration. '_Well, at least I won't have a mission tonight since Persona will be_**very** busy.'

Well, he was wrong.

* * *

**The next day…**

Not being able to take it anymore, Ruka shouted, "**Cesse de jouer la comédie!**"

For the past hour and a half, Ruka has been struggling to get Mikan to come clean. To tell him the motivation and purpose behind everything she's done, but all that he got in return was being played like a fool and of course, various arguments were ensued. Ruka wasn't able to get a single answer out of her and to say the least, he was very frustrated, and so he finally exploded in her face.

"**You want me to stop putting on an act?**" Mikan stared into his eyes with a serious look and Ruka meekly nodded. "**Then I will stop it just for you.**"

As soon as she said that, Mikan pulled Ruka into a searing hot kiss.

Unknown to Ruka, there was a trembling figure watching them. The figure's limp hands dropped the camera in its hand, causing it to fall onto the forest ground with a rustle and decently soft landing. Through a bug, she had seen the arguing duo and immediately stopped everything she was doing to aid Ruka. Bitterly, she thought, '_For once, I was going to be nice and this is what I get as a reward.'_

Ruka's prodigious-sized eyes darted to the onlooker and against what should be possible, they widened even more.

Hotaru was staring at them with tears at the corner of her usually emotionless eyes―whether or not she was aware of them, the duo didn't know. However, Ruka's reaction was instantaneous. He struggled with all his strength to pull away, but the decision wasn't up to him. With Hotaru as their petrified audience, Mikan kissed him for at least another minute before she finally pulled away, leaving a string of saliva to hang between their mouths.

The moment he was free, he ripped away from her, severing the link between them without a second thought and chased after the already-escaping figure of Hotaru.

Mikan watched the two fading figures with a lick across her lips to savor the taste and her forefinger tapped against her lower lips in thought. '_Although I admit that was a very hot, albeit one-sided, kiss, it just didn't have any… I believe they call it fireworks to it. It felt like I was kissing a best friend or brother rather than the passionate and skin-tangling kiss it should have been…'_

However, her thoughts were interrupted by a nearing presence.

Turning around, Mikan called out, "You know, it's not very nice to sneak up on someone, Rei."

When Rei stepped out of the trees' shadows, a look of fury and obvious jealousy was plastered all over his face.

Mikan smirked. "So you saw us just now, huh?"

"What is going on between you and that Nogi boy?" Rei questioned with barely constrained anger.

"Nothing, I was just giving him a hand." Mikan shrugged as she added internally, 'A_nd to do a little experiment.'_

"Giving him a hand?" Rei asked incredulously. "By kissing him?"

"Well, if you weren't so focused on that display, you would've noticed Imai Hotaru standing there as well," Mikan retorted with a roll of her eyes.

Rei narrowed his eyes, still displeased by that kiss, but remained silent.

"Anyways, why should it matter to you?" Mikan asked, knowing the reaction it'll invoke.

As expected, Rei's eyes blazed up in rage and he took a step forward, grasping Mikan's shoulder so tightly that his knuckles whitened. "Why should it matter to me? Are you kidding me?"

"Do I look like I am?" Mikan raised her eyebrow, infuriating Rei even more with her apparent nonchalance.

"Why does it matter to me?" Rei repeated. "I'll show you why it matters to me!"

With that, Rei slammed his lips onto Mikan's and led them into a fierce and forceful tongue battle that set her body ablaze.

Amidst her hazing thoughts, one lone thought made itself known. '_This is the kind of kiss I am talking about._'

When the need for air became too great to ignore, they reluctantly pulled apart, struggling to catch their breaths. They stared into each other's eyes intensely, but Mikan easily broke this moment when she remarked with a chuckle, "You know, if you wanted to kiss me so badly, you could've just asked me."

"Why? Why are you like this?" Rei questioned, enraged by her seemingly careless attitude about all of this. "How can you brush me off just like that?"

'_Because I don't have time for romance,_' Mikan thought with an inward grimace while outwardly, no emotion was shown and she was just blankly staring at him.

Rei's hands moved to Mikan's cheeks, holding them in his grasp so that they have no way to escape his stare. "Please, Mikan, don't do this to yourself. Whatever you are planning, don't shut off your feelings! Both for the sake of yourself and everyone around you, especially me!"

Rei's body was trembling by the end, as he added, "I beg you."

'_So he knew I had my own agenda, of course he'd be the one to catch on,_' Mikan thought with a bitter smile as her other facial features remained unaffected by Rei's pleading.

Without another thought, Mikan slipped out of Rei's hold and began walking away. Rei's eyes widened for a second before he chased after her. When she was within reach, Rei's hands shot out and spun her around. Seeing Mikan's soulless eyes caused Rei's eyes to enlarge even more before his lips clashed with Mikan's. However, this time, it was a one-sided kiss since Mikan was being very unresponsive. When his tongue asked for entrance, she allowed it. When his tongue tried to engage her in a battle of the tongues, she allowed his to push hers as he liked, but never pushed back. When his tongue gave up and decided to explore every crevice in her mouth instead, she allowed it to as it pleased. There was no passion whatsoever. It was as if Mikan was a mere rag doll.

Finally breaking from her to replenish his air supply, Rei reopened his eyes and all that met him were Mikan's ice cold eyes. She had completely closed herself off from the world. Although she was physically here, she wasn't psychologically here; the body was an empty shell and she was running on autopilot. Why? Why must she do this to the two of them? Why is she so desperate to escape? Why was she so afraid of his feelings for her? Why—

"There's no point in continuing this any further." Mikan's voice broke Rei out of his endless questions.

Rei's eyes snapped towards Mikan. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I meant exactly what I said. All this is going to bring are unwanted feelings."

"Unwanted feelings?" Rei's eyes flared up in anger. "Is that what you think these are?"

"Would I say so if I meant otherwise?" Mikan squarely stared into Rei's eyes.

All of a sudden, Rei started desperately shaking her shoulders. "This isn't Mikan! Who are you? Mikan, get the heck out of wherever you are and wake up! Stop hiding behind this meaningless façade, you coward!"

Mikan's eyes widened considerably and just as suddenly, she broke into tears and dropped to her knees. "Why? Why? Why can't you just let me be? Why can't you let us stay as the best of friends? Why are you forcing us to take that step forward to the point on of no return? Why? WHY?"

With a gentle and relieved smile, Rei wiped off the streaming tears from her face in a kneeled position. "Because I love you and I can't bear to lose you, even if it might cause you to hate me."

Mikan chuckled. "You are an idiot, Rei."

"So are you." Rei chuckled as well, happy that Mikan seemed to be herself again.

"You are the bigger—" Before Mikan could finish her sentence, she collapsed onto the ground, her skin quickly falling to a pale color.

"Mikan! Mikan! MIKAN! What's wrong?" Rei brought the unconscious Mikan onto his lap and shook her gently. Realizing that he would be of no help, Rei quickly gathered Mikan into his arms princess style and rushed towards the Alice hospital.

* * *

...I don't know what happened there. The characters just took off on their own after I started writing them, like they always do. Hey, I have a question for you fellow writers out there, when you start writing sometimes, do you just sort of enter into this zoned-out state and after you finish writing what you intended, you are like, "What the heck did I just write? I can't remember anything except for the vital details!"? Because I surely do. I don't know whether to be annoyed or glad about it. :/

Concerning the next update, I don't know when it'll be out, hopefully by Valentine's Day. I am trying to finish this story by Rei's birthday, as I've probably mentioned before, so I will TRY to focus (can't guarantee anything). But plot bunnies wouldn't leave be alone and I might've started a story or two on another account. Plus, I would like to finish this one-shot I've been planning since quite a while back.

Oh yeah, you guys like my new avatar and the new summary for this story?

Happy New Year, everyone! Some of you have probably been in the 2012 time for a while now, but sue me, I live in the 'past. :P Any New Year Resolutions out there?

Happy pseudo birthday to Mikan as well! Until next time~

Best wishes always,  
Zenophobiaz

**Published:** 01/01/2012


End file.
